Flawless Tess
The story about perfectionism
| Author | Tihana Fraculj |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jelena Brezovec |
| Original Title | Ena Savršena |
| ISBN | 978-953-385-051-1 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 32 |
| Size | 22x25 cm |
| Age range | Beginning readers (5 – 7), Young readers (6 – 10) |
| Category | Socioemotional learning |
|---|---|
| Tag | Socioemotional skills and competencies |
Little girl called Tess was obsessed with accuracy and she loved order. She wanted everything to be in its place and look just right. When she made a mistake, when others didn’t confirm that she had done everything perfectly, or when she thought that more was expected of her, Tess would get very upset. That’s why she often felt as if there was a strange knot deep in her stomach.
One afternoon, she had already started her homework drawing ten times over. She was so nervous and miserable that a strange little creature popped out of her stomach. It was – Messy! The little tangled creature decided to help Tess complete the drawing step by step, end her task in a way that she can enjoy the process and be satisfied with the end result.
Flawless Tess is part of a series of picture books about the development of socio-emotional competences in children. It is a story about perfectionism – desire to be perfect in everything and setting extremely high standards, while valuing oneself solely on the basis of achievements. Perfectionism also implies a deep need to avoid failure, insecurity and criticism, which often leads to feelings of great dissatisfaction.
In children and adults, perfectionism can be a source of strength, but also a cause of great stress. Healthy perfectionism encourages learning and effort. Unhealthy perfectionism blocks creativity due to fear of failure, makes children give up, and is a source of anxiety, anger, and sadness.
Therefore, it’s important to find a healthy middle ground in which the child will be encouraged to try and progress, but at the same time know how to accept their own mistakes and not identify them with their own value. We learn from mistakes, and the goal is not to be perfect, but to be satisfied with yourself and your results that come from sincere effort.
Messy and Tess will teach children self-awareness, that it is okay to make mistakes and that this does not mean that we are insufficient and unworthy. We can learn from mistakes and they can be the beginning of some new creativity and new opportunities for satisfaction.
Author: Tihana Fraculj
Tihana 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.
