Cover Image: My Fantabulous Brain

My Fantabulous Brain

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Member Reviews

(I was able to get a copy of this book and complete my review. )
I read this with my 9 yo son and he liked it. He giggled at the thought of the boy's brain being outside of his body and the boy was still alive in the story. It is cute, there is some rhyming, and it held my son's interest. We are going to do the brain training exercises tomorrow!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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It is difficult when you feel you are the only one who can't understand your lessons or are unable to solve the sums. Wade gets help from his brain's toolbox and learns that what seems hard is actually very easy and simple. That he need not worry about his studies when he uses his brain in the right way. Many a times, kids who are not able to do good in studies, try really hard and it just increases the stress on their tender mind. This book suggests that trying hard should be replaced with trying smart. A commonly undervalued but thoughtful concept narrated in a rhythmic style and nice illustrations.

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Thank you for the chance to give feedback for this book.

When I was a younger reader (admittedly a long time ago), I never came across books like these. I review a lot of books nowadays that are based on teaching lessons that often go untold. I think that these books, that I guess may be categorized as self-help? or just reflective of certain circumstances that impact individuals differently. This book is one of those special areas, as it covers the learning process, which is undeniably something that is individualized and impacts everyone differently. So, I am convinced that this book would be helpful for connecting with children who approach learning in perhaps a unconventional way, so to speak, and just to have that sort of representation is perhaps important. So, I'm sure that it would make a good addition to school rooms, guidance offices, maybe after school learning centers? At home learning as well. That sort of thing and perhaps even reading along with an adult will be even more helpful to drive home some of the points.

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When one is struggling to learning, frustration may take over which sooner or later will completely block the learning process. Children are caught between the need to move forward with the homeworks and getting good, better grades, and the impossibility to move forward. Learning disabilities can be overcome by using the right guidance. Asking help is not a shame and this applies both to children and their parents. The most important is to find the right strategies that suit the child´s brain to move forward and cope with the difficulties in a smooth, easy way.
Indeed, the brain can be ´fantabulous´ when our children learn how to be confident and resilient, but in a gentle, human-like way. One may not be able to solve a problem now, but this is just a fact that does not have to repeat itself.
For primary school children, this book can open the minds for understanding failures while moving forward with the learning process. Including by taking a well deserved break as long as it helps coming back with fortified energies and a stronger brain resilience. It may offer also a good help to parents trying to understand why their children are not outperforming in school as expected and what can be done in order to correct this situation. Again, asking for help is not a shame but an obligation for the parents that are interested to provide the right support to the children.
Although I´ve found the idea of this book excellent, I expected a different kind of rhyme style and definitely a much better quality of the illustrations.
But as for now, it does a good job in delivering an educational message in a joyous way. Learning how to take with your brain and trust him is, after all, a really appealing idea.

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This is a long story, but gives the message going from I quit to I can. It is relatable to many kids who are trying to use their brain to their highest potential.

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This is a great book showing a growth mindset and the great things your brain can do. My children both loved it and retained a lot of the information in the story.

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This is a unique and cute story of a young boy who is trying to understand why learning can be difficult at times. Just as Wade is about to give up, his FANTABULOUS brain shows up to better understand how they can work together.

The rhyme scheme in this story is a nice way to make a more difficult topic interesting and engaging to young readers. I also think the illustrations are fun, bright, and interesting to look at.

I am a little worried that the content leaves out the uniqueness of how individuals learn in that the brain comes to Wade and tells him that all he needs to do is use the Brain Toolbox and Brain Trainers to fix his learning. This can seem a bit uninclusive to individuals who learn differently from how the book portrays it. However, I think if the emphasis can be placed more heavily on each individual having their own Brain Toolbox to help them learn best, in whatever form that may look like, that could really improve the inclusiveness of this story.

Overall, this is a cute read about a topic that many youths seem to struggle with, and it is written in such a way to make the story informative yet still silly.

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A good resource for young children struggling to see how they can learn.

I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary e/copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

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This is a great book to use with students to help inspire a growth mindset & inspire positive self-talk. I would also use this book with students with learning difficulties or students that are struggling to help them understand what is going on with their brain. I love the resources at the back of the book to challenge students give them brain testers.

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My Fantabulous Brain by Julia Cook is the perfect book for a young child struggling with learning. As the mother of a son who has a learning disability in written expression among other diagnoses it was very relatable to me. It also made me empathetic to the challenges my son faces trying to access his education, especially in the current forced virtual learning model. We are given hope when the imaginary character “my fantabulous brain” is introduced and advice and strategies are shared to help the struggling young boy. Specific terms are broken down in easy to understand illustrations and examples for a child. For example, the many parts of your brain that are used to go across monkey bars. This and other examples can encourage your child to “work smarter, not harder” and “tune-up their brain.” At the end of the book extra activities are included to work with your child to retrain their brain. I am interested in working more with these ideas and am inspired to learn more about this area.

I was provided a free review copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. The opinions shared are my own.

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Thank you National Center for Youth Issues and NetGalley for the advance digital reading copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the brain training exercises at the end of this book. It is fun to challenge your brain at every age!

I like that this book explains to children that it is okay to ask for help and that sometimes our brains need more tools in their tool kits to understand what everyone else understands right away.

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I was granted complimentary access to My Fantabulous Brain in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

My Fantabulous Brain is about breaking down big problems into smaller ones and figuring out ways to make those smaller problems second nature. Breaking big tasks down into smaller ones, then practising ways to make those smaller ones easier, improves the way our brains work and thus makes tackling more complicated things easier. This is an important lesson for kids to learn, and I would recommend this book to any parent/guardian or teacher of kids who are struggling, particularly in school but potentially with anything.

I noticed some very contemporary phrases, like "work smarter not harder" and "awesome sauce" that may not age with the book and may also not be in the lexicon of the age group that would be reading and benefiting from this book (work smarter not harder in particular.) I also felt that this book is a bit long for the age group that would read and benefit from it. There's a lot crammed into every page!

The illustrations are engaging and colourful, which makes them a pleasure to look at and should entice kids who might otherwise lose interest. Beautiful work!

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I love the art.

Coming to the actual content, it talks about making children who has difficulty learning to make things easier and make them understand.

I know that this is meant to make things easier at the understanding level of kids but the way it's written might seem a bit tidious. I wish it was broken into much more simpler, shorter sentences or phrases. I wish the illustrations were more vivid and colourful.

But what I feel the content lacked is the actual exercise or methods that should have been illustrated. If it had focused on only one method and illustrate ways and means; who can assist and for whom, it would have been much more direct and quite applicable in practice.

Nonetheless, I appreciate the efforts and the information given in the book.

Thank you, authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

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My Fantabulous Brain by Julia Cook is a lovely story about a young boy who struggles with learning. It tells the story of how he can improve his brain and make learning easier which in turn makes him feel better about himself.
I read it to my 4 year old son. I enjoyed the positive story and we both loved the illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy.

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I really enjoyed this story and thought that it was well written.

the book was planned out well and it was easy to read and follow and I know that this is a book that will resonate with quite a few children. It is not always easy to concentre and follow things but taking a step back sometimes can really help and if we look at a problem with a little help often we can get it solved.

This book is great in that it shows that they are not alone and we do all think differently, after all that's what makes us so special and unique.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

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Believe me, I know how hard you try. I'm inside trying too. And if we work smarter not harder, I'll make us a better you.

Some children struggle to learn for many different reasons and some children learn with ease. Learning benefits us all in many different ways. Children that do struggle, need to know several things; that they are not alone and that there are ways to learn smarter. This book is for kids that struggle and why and ways that they can succeed. This is not a size fits all but it does address the problem and possible solutions. Most important it will place value on children with all learning capacities.

A special thank you to National Center for Youth Issues and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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I enjoyed the uplifting message to this sweet story. Lots of good lessons for young readers.
I have to admit the brain illustration did come off as kind of creepy, but it the rest of the illustrations were engaging.

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Nope, uh uh, not something I would enjoy reading to the kids or something that I think would interest them. Of course, I am a layman not a pedagogue, but having raised a child with learning disabilities, I am aware of the challenges facing both the child and the parent. There are so many different learning disabilities out there and I think the solution is smaller classrooms and individual attention. Even daydreaming in class is a learning disability. How many of you remember sitting in class and not remembering a word the teacher said? Too much money? Not enough resources? Bad excuses for where to set priorities.

Thank you NetGalley and National Center for Youth Issues / Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This is my unprofessional Mother opinion.

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My Fantabulous Brain by Julia Cook is a book with a positive message and a can-do attitude for kids struggling with school. I can't speak toward the efficacy of the practices, or if they would be the right one for each kid, but it was good to read about some different strategies that kids can try when they feel stuck academically. I don't like when a book switches from rhyming to not, so I wish this had been consistent throughout.

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My Fantabulous Brain is about a little boy experiencing learning difficulties. His Brain Toolbox has solid strategies to overcome this difficulties and embrace a growth mindset. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. I do wish the author listed teachers, tutors, and counselors as brain trainers or possible helpers. This is a great addition to my academic advisement work with elementary students. Thanks National Center for Youth Issues and NetGalley for the ARC of this title.

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