How to Train Your Amygdala - by Anna Housley Juster (Hardcover)

About the Book

Your amygdala works hard to protect you from danger, but what about when it gets things wrong? This amusing character-driven narrative helps children learn to calm their amygdala and control their fight-flight-freeze impulses.

Book Synopsis

Your amygdala works hard to protect you from danger, but what about when it gets things wrong? This amusing character-driven narrative helps children learn to calm their amygdala and control their fight-flight-freeze impulses.

The amygdala is the brain's alarm system that alerts for danger, but sometimes it gets things wrong and needs help calming down. In this picture book, young readers receive kid-friendly information about the amygdala from the amygdala, how it can sometimes get confused, and simple ideas to calm and train it.

The amygdala in How to Train Your Amygdala makes complicated concepts accessible to children so they can understand their bodies, practice impulse control, and boost their self-regulation. "You have probably never seen me before, but I am right here in your brain. There is an amygdala in everyone's brain. It's true! All humans have one. Many other animals do too."

Throughout the book, the amygdala and the reader practice anxiety-calming and mindfulness strategies such as deep breathing, visualization, and progressive relaxation. With anxiety on the rise among children, learning how to calm the amygdala is a critical life skill.

Additional content at the back of the book includes an amygdala's training playbook for kids and more information for adults to help reinforce the book's message.

How to Train Your Amygdala is a 2024 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite winner.

Review Quotes

"How to Train Your Amygdala is thoughtful and well written. It illustrates the brain, anxiety, and self-help options that are accessible to children. I shared the book with my niece who struggles with anxiety, and she was actively engaged in the material and practiced the strategies as we read. She especially loved the kitten. I highly recommend this book for parents and children as a helpful tool toward emotional development."--Phillip Laidlaw, Psy.D., licensed psychologist, child and family therapist, clinical supervisor, and mentor in Framingham, MA

"The world would be a better place if every child and adult knew the word amygdala and even better--how to train it! This book does just that and is filled with powerful messages and illustrations that can help nurture children's emotional well-being in fun, gentle, and reassuring ways. Now, excuse me while I go to take some deep breaths and give my amygdala a big hug!"--Jane Park, educational content expert, mom, and Senior Content Strategist at Google Kids & Families

"This creative, beautifully illustrated, engaging book is a delightful resource to help children and their grown-ups understand the mind-body connection. Absolutely love the Amygdala character, who shares the power of mindfulness strategies to help calm our minds and bodies when having big feelings."--Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D., SVP, Curriculum & Content, Sesame Workshop

"This is a really cool book, packed full of lots of great information about the brain and why one needs to be in control of their emotions. I would recommend this as a great book for families to read and practice together."

-- "Kids Book Buzz"

"How to Train Your Amygdala provides children with an easily accessible explanation of the amygdala and what it does for your body. Unlike many children's books, How to Train Your Amygdala gives children a clear and accurate explanation for their feelings, helping to demystify for them why they feel certain ways at certain times. It also provides clear and actionable strategies for coping with overwhelming emotions. The guide for adults is an excellent support for assisting one's children in using techniques to help regulate their emotions."--Erin O'Connor, Professor, Program Head of Early Childhood Education at New York University, co-host of the parenting podcast Parenting Understood, and Chief of Education at Cooper

"I'm thrilled that Anna's wonderful book How to Train Your Amygdala is available to children, families, and educators. Anna's expertise in child development and experience as a mental health clinician are apparent on every page of this beautiful book that guides both children and adults on a fascinating journey. The strategies on how to reduce anxiety and help young children navigate stressful situations are incredibly valuable and should be shared far and wide."--Sue Gaon, Vice President, Lakeshore Learning Materials

About the Author

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Anna Housley Juster, PhD, LICSW, is an award-winning author, child and adolescent mental health clinician, and early childhood education consultant. She began her career as a Head Start teacher and has over 25 years of experience supporting children and families across a variety of contexts. During many years in children's media, she served as director of content for Sesame Street developing curriculum for the series, as well as leading publishing, product development, and interactive technology.

After several years at a community mental health center, Anna now runs a private practice specializing in anxiety, behavioral challenges, ADHD, trauma, and parent guidance. She combines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, play therapy, and a strengths-based approach to working with families. She collaborates closely with educators and school guidance counselors, supports trauma-informed, play-based professional development, has covered a range of topics for parents and teachers, and written early childhood curricula.

Anna is the author of two picture books: The Best Good Thing and How to Train Your Amygdala (2024 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite), which has been translated into French via Éditions Midi Trente as Mon Amie Amygdale, and has been licensed for translation, print, and distribution by the Ministry of Education for Indonesia. The bilingual (Spanish/English) hardcover is also available. In partnership with Lakeshore Learning, Anna created the How to Train Your Amygdala Calming Kit, including the book and related products to help adults support children's self-regulation skills in the classroom and beyond.

Anna holds a BA in Child Development and English from Tufts University, an MA in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, a PhD in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from New York University, and an MSW from Boston College. She grew up playing in mud, sand, and snow, surrounded by stories, and is a firm believer in the power of play. Her favorite number is 3, and she lives with her husband, two daughters, and one very soft dog near Boston, Massachusetts.

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Cynthia Cliff is a self-taught artist and author who grew up in a tiny historic village in rural Virginia surrounded by her large superstitious family, and farms and woodlands where she spent every waking hour. This upbringing provided her with a deep love and appreciation for history, family, nature, and folklore--themes that find their way into much of her whimsical, folk-art inspired, and optimistic artwork. She resides in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., with her partner and four-legged family.