Book Review: Ink About It | By: Committee for Children Art with Heart publication by Steffanie Lorig; Annie McCall, MA, LMHC; and Kate Gardener, CCLS Reading level: Grade 6 and older Everyone needs a safe place to process stress and change in their lives. Tweens and teens in particular can flounder as they move from childhood into adulthood. Add a family crisis or health issue, and things sometimes get to be too much. Ink About It, an Art with Heart activity book for children 11 and older, helps young people handle challenges by expressing themselves creatively. The dozens of activities by 31 international artists are designed to act as a “springboard for self-discovery, conversations and personal growth.” Based in cognitive-behavioral, narrative, and art therapies, each activity guides troubled children toward a healthier social-emotional state. Activities include: “Missing You,” a page with writing prompts for children who have lost someone close: “Here’s something I never told you while I had the chance…”; “Here’s what’s new in my life…”; “It’s amazing to look ahead in my life and think…” A chart called “Food and Mood,” which helps young people make the connection between what they eat and how they feel “Notice and Take Control,” a great worksheet that has respondents answering such questions as “What goes through my mind when I’m feeling stressed?” “Which of my reactions help the situation and which make it worse?” “What can I do to FEEL differently? What can I do to calm down when I’m worked up?” A “Self-Talk” page, which describes the difference between helpful and unhelpful self-talk, and provides space for children to give their own examples of both Sections about favorite songs and places to hang out will appeal to the ’tween or teen, as will a page about “walking the line” between childhood and adulthood. The book is printed in one color only—“Bic pen” blue—to allow young people the chance to add the colors that feel right to them. Ink About It, along with Art with Heart’s other journals and activity books—Magnificent Marvelous Me, Chill and Spill and Oodles of Doodles—provide such a range of approaches and activities for dealing with stressful change that children of all stripes will benefit. Special writing or artistic skills are not required. In fact, Ink About It includes an “official” artistic license readers can sign, giving themselves permission to be messy, imperfect, and free to express themselves in any way they choose. Social-Emotional Lessons in Ink About It Virtually every page in Ink About It reflects the skill goals found in curricula like the Second Step and Steps to Respect. Whether they are recognizing the differences among aggressive, assertive, and passive behavior; learning how to use self-talk in a positive way; figuring out what makes them explode (or implode); or just pinpointing what happens in their bodies with various emotions, tweens and teens will appreciate the chance to make the learning personal and fun with their own private workbook. Buy Ink About It in our online store or watch this video to get an inside peek!