Traveling the Twisting Troubling Tanglelows’ Trail (Hardcover)
Take a journey inside your mind and learn of the Tanglelows.
Traveling the Twisting Troubling Tanglelows’ Trail is the premiere book featuring The Tanglelows, the first installment in a series by Greg McGoon (Royal Heart) that teaches children how to navigate their feelings and encourages abstract thought, while giving families a tool for voicing their emotions. The vibrant graphics illustrated by Jessa Orr add to this fantastic tale that talks about delving into your own mind to explore your thoughts. Inside your thoughts, there are creatures that can tangle your thoughts, create clutter and confusion, and this story explores the idea of self-worth and issues like anxiety and depression through the Tanglelows’ own behavior. The book has already been hailed as “a great family read” which “stimulates rich discussion” by Dr. Mary Baker-Ericzén of the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, who also called it “a useful tool for psychologists to use in treatment.” No stranger to anxiety and depression, I found the notion of this book intriguing and wanted to read it for myself and to my oldest daughter.
“The Tanglelows can be friends or foes, creatures that adapt to how we behave,” reflected McGoon. “This book recognizes both the hardships and the growth a person can face. The Tanglelows came to me as a personal discovery after experiences that caused me to question myself. Recognizing the Tanglelows inside my own mind allowed me to navigate through my doubts, and help me understand my own strength.”
While there is plenty of rhyming and quirkiness to make this a silly story, the Tanglelows actually serve as a tool to acknowledge feelings that may inhibit motivation. It can be silly and fun, but the words in this book give kids a playful way to work through the tangles that might be blocking them from full self-expression. Even as an almost-first grader, my daughter is starting to encounter certain feelings like fear, embarrassment, and brief periods of doubt in her own world that is filled with many children and teachers each day that bring their own personal experiences into her picture of life. Every child, every PERSON, goes through hardships and discoveries that make them grow into who they are and the sooner a child realizes that their own thoughts and mind can cloud their judgement, the sooner they can learn how to ‘untangle’ them and become stronger as a person. It’s not always a lesson you can readily teach, and certainly not in one day, but the words in the book reflect an outlook and a way of life that through practice and with certain tools kids can reach their own potential. That is what makes this tale so enticing. If you are looking for a guide to help your child through the messy thoughts we all have from the day to day, this book does a wonderful job at showing us how to be kinder to ourselves and to others as we twist along their path to a place of self-acceptance and understanding. I’m excited to see the next installment of The Tanglelows to see how their journey continues and if it is as useful and helpful to the young psyche as this book.
About the Author: GREG McGOON is an author and stage actor with a degree in psychology from the University of San Diego. He attended the Claremont School of Theatre Arts as a child and was later an instructor with the program. Greg is the Founder and Executive Director of Artcentricity Inc., a non-profit children’s creative arts experience focused on child development. His books explore children’s feelings about themselves and the world around them. He is a performer with the National Drama Troupe in Ghana and leads workshops with the California State Thespian Festival. www.GregMcGoon.com
About Pelekinesis: Pelekinesis is an independent book publishing company focusing on the development of literary-minded authors and artists by embracing the evolving publishing paradigm and creatively supporting the skills of talented writers. www.Pelekenis.com
Traveling the Twisting Troubling Tanglelows’ Trail (Hardcover)
List Price: $ 19.95
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