Do you know where your kids’ books are? The pandemic has wreaked havoc on kids’ mental health. Fortunately, a good novel or memoir can help. Even just six minutes a day of reading for pleasure can reduce anxiety and depression. Here, you can read all about it in my article for Motherwell, “How to HelpContinue reading “It’s National Mental Health Awareness Week!”
Tag Archives: yalit
Fan Mail, Hate Mail & When to Respond to Both
Life got a bit bananas late last month when CNN decided to feature my story about combatting book bans with novel-writing, Little Free Libraries, and an inflatable T-rex costume. I learned so much from this adventure. First, always ask to see the footage as it’s being filmed, so that the lighting set up doesn’t make you lookContinue reading “Fan Mail, Hate Mail & When to Respond to Both”
Stressed? Read a Novel!
It’s Mental Illness Awareness Week. Do you know where your novel is? I wrote in my chapter on Mental Illness in Better with Books about how cognitive neuropsychologists at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stresslevels by almost 70 percent. Participants in the study demonstrated reduced muscle tension and slower heart rateContinue reading “Stressed? Read a Novel!”
A New Season of Diverse Children’s/YA Literature!
Last Sunday, I moderated a panel at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Fall Tradeshow. Titled “What’s Next: Children’s/YA Books to Celebrate Diversity and Empathy,” it included Fall and Spring Season previews of new releases that had me longing to drop my microphone and sprint to Powell’s Books. I wanted to share with you some of theContinue reading “A New Season of Diverse Children’s/YA Literature!”
10 Books to Help Build Self-Confidence in Your Tweens and Teens
Originally published in Working Mother, May 16th, 2019 10 Books To Help Build Self-Confidence in Your Tweens and Teens Teaching them to love themselves is necessary for growth. Written by Melissa Hart Better with Books by Melissa Hart amazon.comBuy Reading fiction and memoir—regardless of what age we are—is consistently found to develop compassion for others,Continue reading “10 Books to Help Build Self-Confidence in Your Tweens and Teens”
Why Better with Books?
Hello! I’m Melissa Hart, author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens (Penguin/Random House, 2019). Why, yes! I am going for the longest subtitle in the entire world! I wrote Better with Books after two years spent homeschooling my third-grader, who suffered from some prettyContinue reading “Why Better with Books?”
Writing with Hart 