Abstract

Alex is an alligator who has experienced 'scary' things. In this charmingly illustrated story, he talks about how this affects him and how he copes.

By reading about the different parts of Alex that come out because of the scary things he has experienced, such as The Destroyer when he is angry, Spacey when he dissociates, and Puddles when he is sad, children will learn to recognise when they experience these emotions themselves and find solutions for overcoming them. Alex talks about the different coping strategies he uses to get back to being himself, such as breathing techniques, a counting game, painting, and finding a safe space he can go to, encouraging children to think about when they can do to help themselves handle difficult feelings.

An essential resource for professionals working with children who have experienced trauma, including social workers, counsellors, therapists, and child psychologists, as well as for parents and foster carers. Suitable for children aged approximately 4 to 8 years.

While the story is not directly related to foster or adoptive family, it is very much written with children that have suffered trauma in mind. The illustrations are engaging and do a fine job of helping to enhance the content of this story.
Transfiguring Adoption
Alex is a lovable little alligator, and he will appeal to children with different kinds of background experiences. The illustrations are wonderful too, and show the wide range of emotions that children with intense fears can exhibit. Extremely useful for severely traumatised children.
HealthyBooks
This book is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, counselors, and anyone who works with children. Alex's story is endearing, tender, and relatable. Alex's kindness to himself and his parts will promote compassion and empathy in children - both for themselves and others. The exercises in the book will help readers participate with Alex while learning important skills to use for their own growth.
Nadja Reilly, Clinical Psychologist, Associate Director of the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
Alex and the Scary Things explains simple and effective coping strategies such as the 5-4-3-2-1 game in a playful and approachable way. This book can jumpstart conversations both with children who have experienced 'scary things' and with any child who is trying to make sense of challenging emotions.
Carlene MacMillan, MD, Adult and Child Psychiatrist, Trauma and Dissociative Unit, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Melissa Moses is an Assistant Psychologist at McLean Hospital. She has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. Melissa has a private practice in Belmont, Massachusetts and specializes in treating survivors of trauma and the treatment of substance use disorders. She also has an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Alison MacEachern, LMHC currently resides in Massachusetts. She graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Studio Art where she gained experience in illustration and graphic design. Alison has a master's degree from Lesley University in Expressive Therapy, and has a private practice where she does Art Therapy, working primarily with children and adolescents. Alison is also co-president of New England Art Therapy Association.
This book is about an alligator called Alex and his soft toy called AI. It tells of Alex's scary feelings and how he copes with them... The illustrations are colourful and expressive, with dark feelings written on dark paper. I would recommend this book for parents, teachers, therapists and counsellors to read to primary school children, but I would advise them to first explore their own reaction to it in order to collect their own thoughts.
Judith Sonnenberg, Child and family counseller
BACP Children & Young People