There’s a T-Rex in my Tummy book

08/08/2024

😍 Just this week I received this lovely review about There's a T-Rex in my tummy... 😍

"This is a beautifully illustrated rhyming book that discusses feelings of anxiety. It is an accessible resource for children aged 2-8 that provides effective strategies to help them cope with anxious feelings. Using a T-Rex as a personification of the feelings adds instant appeal to the target audience. The text flows well and has a lovely rhythm to it. It is enjoyable to read aloud.

The illustrations are amazing and vibrant, appealing to children and supporting the text beautifully. They also add a bit of humour to the book's content, which helps lighten the tone. The illustrations of people in this book are effective in ‘showing’ what some of the feelings look like through the facial expressions, body language and colours used.

Labelling anxiety as "worries" makes the text accessible to children who may not have the language to use the word "anxiety". The analogies of the feelings using the T-Rex also help younger audiences relate the book to their feelings. The book provides a range of examples when the main character feels this way, making it accessible to various children and situations.

There is a range of strategies outlined in the text for the reader to try when they experience these feelings. Some of the strategies included are consistent with many other picture books: supporting big feelings, taking deep breaths, getting outside, and a hug. The book highlights the importance of talking to someone about your feelings, which is a positive and helpful message for all children.

Overall, this book is fabulous for children who experience anxiety. It provides the reader with the vocabulary to describe their feelings and outlines great strategies (for children and adults alike) to apply when anxious feelings become a T-Rex in your tummy."

Review by Jilena Hastings, Mum of 2 and teacher

https://mentalhealth.org.nz/books/review/there-s-a-t-rex-in-my-tummy

If you'd like to order a copy directly from me and have a message added feel free to send me a DM or jump on my website.

I'm heading overseas soon for a years, so won't be sending books out myself. They'll still be available from our lovely retailers and also from Amazon.

Kellie

30/07/2024

FREE Book alert!!

I just logged into Amazon and I can do another free book download! Yay!

From 1-5 August There’s a T-Rex in my tummy will be available to download for free from Amazon.

Just drop me a note or send me a DM if you’d like a link. 😊

10/04/2024

🎁 🦖 Claim your free book from now until April 14 🦖🎁

It's the one-year birthday of There's a T. rex in my tummy. To celebrate, we've made our story available for free download on Amazon Kindle until the end of the week.

Grab your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5H33S8J

Thank you all for the support you have given to us and our book! It means a lot!

P.S. I would be so grateful if you could leave us an Amazon review once you've read the book. The reviews really help us to spread the word and get our book out to even more little people who need it!

09/04/2024

Book day at school today!! 📚

09/04/2024

🦖🎁 40% discount until April 19 🎁🦖

Just in case you missed it...

To celebrate (and to say thanks to everyone for your support over the last 12 months), There's a T-Rex in My Tummy is on sale until 19 April (or until the current print run is sold out).

If you haven't heard our story, There's a T-Rex in My Tummy is a story that came to me late one night during one of the lockdowns. A little rhyme to help my youngest son to understand the anxiety he was experiencing. It developed from a few lines of rhyme into a story we could read. He wanted to turn that story into a real book, and so in April last year, we published it.

Since then we have shared our book with over 300 families, donated $300 to Gumboot Friday, and visited schools and preschools to share our book and where the inspiration came from.

We've received the most lovely feedback from parents and teachers all over New Zealand (and even some from overseas) about how our story has helped the little people they know to understand their anxious feelings too.

The best thing of all has been to see how happy it has made our little man that we shared his book with everyone else!

Thank you again for all of your support!

08/04/2024

Have you heard about The Hive? It's a cool local website where you can purchase loads of neat products from New Zealand businesses. 🐝

So many small business owners are doing it tough right now, and so many small businesses are closing. Let's do what we can to support them by shopping local!

https://thehivenz.co.nz/

I always think of that little meme that goes something like "when you purchase from a small business, a real person does a happy dance". It is so true. I had a book order come in this morning and literally was doing a happy dance! 💃

P.S. Remember that we still have our birthday special on. 40% off There's a T. Rex in My Tummy with the code "birthday". You can use the same code on The Hive to claim 40% off our book there too!

Shop Small New Zealand. The Hive NZ is an online marketplace where you find kiwi businesses selling their products and services. Find anything from Home Decor to Kids clothing, Toys and Personalised products. Shopping Small made easy; add to cart and check out, all in one easy step

04/04/2024

I can't quite believe it, but this week it has been a year since There's a T-Rex in my tummy was published.

I'm so incredibly proud of what we have achieved with this book in just one year...

🤩 Around 300 books sold
🤩 Around 50 copies donated or gifted
🤩 $300 donated to Gumboot Friday
🤩 Copies in libraries and schools all around NZ
🤩 So many lovely reviews and comments from parents and teachers

And probably the best achievement of all = my little man feeling so proud of everything his book has achieved.

To celebrate the first birthday of our book, I'm offering 40% off all books ordered from www.trexinmytummy.com until the 19th of April.

Just use the code BIRTHDAY at checkout.

Thank you all for your support over the last 12 months!!

Kellie xx

There's a T-Rex in my Tummy is a New Zealand children's book aimed at helping young children to understand feelings of worry or anxiety.

19/02/2024

Such pretty colours!! Love the work did on the illustrations for our book. Such bright and happy images (even the ones when our characters aren’t feeling their best). 🥰

Getting these beauties printed and ready to use as samples to send out to retailers.

I’d love to see our book in more stores in 2024, so 🤞🤞🤞 this works

15/02/2024

New Review of There's a T-Rex in my tummy on Read NZ...

"Oh, how sad the little lad looks on the first page of this book... but thankfully the smiles return at the end!

This would be a handy little book for home or school to read out loud when stressful situations occur. I can certainly relate to nervous tummy aches: not really butterflies, but very much more like a T-Rex in your tummy!

Tummy aches often occur when there's a problem and this book gives some handy hints on how we can deal with them. It's written with a rhyming text (although I didn't think the rhyming words were always a good fit - I would like to change them just a little bit!)

These days the world is full of worries and I'm sure there will be many occasions when this book is plucked from the shelf to calm the T-Rex down.

The illustrations are colourful and the facial expressions of the characters (and the dinosaur too) clearly reveal the child's anxiety when facing difficult situations. The story goes on to explain top tips to take away the T-Rex in child-friendly language: fresh air, a hug, a walk and the best idea - to talk."

https://www.read-nz.org/school-library/there-s-a-t-rex-in-my-tummy

13/02/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day!! 🥰 ❤️

13/02/2024

One of our boys was a bit worried about a test he had today. It kept him up last night, and he woke up feeling tired and upset that he had to go to school and do the test when he wasn’t at his best.

I overheard him tonight talking to his dad about how it all went. He seemed much happier after having a talk about it all, and he was reassured that we’re here to help him if he’s worried about something.

Sometimes our little ones don’t come forward with their problems and it leaves us guessing. This page from There’s a T-Rex in my tummy is a gentle reminder that we adults are here to listen and help with our little people’s worries big and small. 🥰😍

12/02/2024

It’s been a little bit of time since I shared some reader feedback!

I always love hearing from readers who are enjoying our book. It’s so lovely to not only hear that you are enjoying it, but also seeing how people are using the book in schools and at home has been great too.

I’m often getting little messages with pictures of classes putting the book to good use!

If you’d like to share your experiences with There’s a T-Rex in my tummy I’d love to hear from you!