The Heavy Backpack

In "The Heavy Backpack," follow Enid as she navigates the complex emotions of grief after losing her Granddad. This heartwarming picture book uses the metaphor of a heavy backpack to represent the emotional burdens children (and adults) carry. As Enid meets different people on her journey, she learns to talk about her feelings and unloads items from her backpack, each representing a stage of grief. This beautifully illustrated story helps children understand that it's okay to feel overwhelmed and encourages them to seek support, ultimately leading them to find lightness and happy memories.

What Parents Love:

• Parents appreciate the book's relatable story, using the heavy backpack as a metaphor for emotional burdens, making it easy for children to understand abstract feelings.
• It serves as a helpful tool for parents to initiate conversations with their children about stress and anxiety, encouraging them to verbalize their emotions.
• The simple language and engaging illustrations are widely praised, although some parents felt that the book could benefit from including more concrete coping strategies and might be too simplistic for older children.

How It Helps Kids:

• Emotional Understanding: Helps children understand and process feelings of being overwhelmed and navigate complex emotions like grief.
• Stress Management: Encourages discussion about managing stress and anxiety by verbalizing feelings.
• Emotional Intelligence: Promotes emotional intelligence by teaching children to recognize, understand, and express their emotions.
• Friendship & Support: Reinforces the importance of friendship and seeking help from others when feeling burdened.

Key Features:

• Colorful Illustrations: Enhances engagement and emotional connection with the story.
• Simple Storyline: Makes complex emotions accessible and easy to understand for young children.
• Relatable Character: Allows children to identify with Enid and her emotional journey.
• Encourages Discussion: Provides a framework for parents and children to discuss emotions openly.

About the Author:

Sarah Surgey has been a freelance writer and teacher for over 10 years. Her book "The Heavy Bag" is used within primary schools across the UK as an Emotional Support Book, exploring grief and loss, and was chosen as Giovanna Fletcher’s World Book Day book for 2022.

About the Illustrator:

Larisa Ivankovic is a freelance illustrator with experience in illustrating books for children through her company, Little Witch Factory illustrations. She believes children’s illustrations keep you optimistic, sincere, and creative.