Anna and Mister Feareater
The story about self-confidence
| Author | Tihana Lipovec Fraculj |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jelena Brezovec |
| Original Title | Ana I gospodin Strahojed |
| ISBN | 978-953-8008-42-9 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 32 |
| Size | 22x25 cm |
| Age range | Beginning readers (5 – 7), Young readers (6 – 10) |
| Categories | Fear, Socioemotional learning |
|---|---|
| Tag | Socioemotional skills and competencies |
SPECIAL MENTION FROM THE JURY – GRIGOR VITEZ AWARD 2019
Anna is little, curious girl who has a very big secret. She is afraid of everything and anything. Almost every day, Anna was discovering new fear that would quickly settle in her head.
Recently, another one was added to Anna’s long list of fears – the fear of auditioning for the school choir. Although she loved to sing, Anna could not fall asleep because of the fear of having to sing in front of her teacher and classmates.
One night, she was lying in bed fighting the fear that kept her awake, and suddenly she felt an itch in her ear. As she scratched it, a chubby, colourful, funny looking little man fell out of her ear. Even Anna couldn’t be afraid of him, because he was so lovable and funny.
He introduced himself as Mr. Feareater, who decided to take Anna to Fearville city and show her how to get rid of all the fears that keep her awake. He took her to a Museom of Fears where she could see what children are mostly afraid of and thought her some tricks how to overcome something that is scary in her mind or heart.
This story is part of a picture book series about socio-emotional competences in children. Little readers will learn how to develop self-confidence, self-reliance, trust in their own abilities, values and knowledge.
Through Anna’s story, children will see how they can overcome fears through practical exercises and internal regulation. They will learn how to realistically evaluate what they can do, and how to empower themselves to act and actively achieve what they want.
Self-confidence is a belief that we can successfully cope with life’s challenges. If we believe that we can do something, it is more likely that we will be successful, less afraid, and face our problems more easily.
Self-confidence is a skill or competence that is practiced and learned throughout life. The goal is to raise a child who is not afraid of challenges, new things and changes, and has faith that he has all the competencies he needs to achieve his goal.
The child should be given tasks that are slightly beyond his current abilities, so that he must put effort into solving them. Key elements in development of self-confidence are love and acceptance of the child with all his virtues and flaws.
Author: Tihana Lipovec Fraculj
Tihana Lipovec Fraculj has a master’s degree in Croatian language, literature and theatre studies. For many years she had worked as a teacher, and she was also editor in chief of a children’s magazine called „Bambino “. Her life project is Creative centre “Košnica” which she has been running for 14 years and where she works with children in art workshops – drama, acting, singing and dancing. Tihana writes fairytales, short stories, songs and plays. She’s an actor in children’s plays and dubs cartoons for cinemas. Together with her long-time colleague and friend, she is a co-founder of “Happiness Training Room”, where she practices socio-emotional competencies with children.
Illustrator: Jelena Brezovec
Jelena Brezovec has a master’s degree in social studies. For a long time, drawing was just a hobby, until 2008 when she became a co-founder of the publishing house Evenio and decided to study digital illustration, with the focus on children’s illustration. So far, she has illustrated more than 40 picture books and many other publications. She is the winner of the Grigor Vitez “Bird” Award, a special praise from the children’s jury. She has illustrated the most popular children’s book series in Croatia – Mrljek & Prljek. Her illustrations have been part of many exhibitions throughout Croatia. She lives and works in Varaždin, Croatia.
