A CARDENDEN teacher has penned her second book which she hopes will help youngsters express their emotions.

Jodi Heyes, 32, wrote her first book in 2020, soon after her now 20-month year old daughter Luna was born, and has just celebrated the publication of its sequel, When Worley Gets Angry.

She has produced the books – which tell the story of very special monsters who face different emotions – in her efforts to help children talk about their feelings.

“Having suffered quite a bit as a kid – I lost my dad at 10 and I lost my best friend at 14 – and had a lot of bullying and not nice things going on and I didn’t know how to cope,” she explained.

“That had a massive effect on me as an adult which led to a breakdown. I don’t want kids to go through what I did. The more people I can teach and I can help the better. I don’t think I would have had as big a meltdown if I already had tools to use.

“My characters are all monsters – I have a whole tribe of emotions monsters that teach children about emotions. Worley is the main one and he meets his friends with different emotions.

“The first one was teaching him to be brave and through the monster, you learn you might make a mistake but it will be fine. He realises he doesn’t need to be the best at everything.

“The second book is about anger. The book is written as a rhyme and basically Worley gets angry and doesn’t know what it is. His friend George, the angry monster, teaches him it is ok to be angry and how to manage it.

“It is done in quite a fun way so children can understand.”

Jodi, who also has a coaching and therapy business to help children with their mental health.

“Luna has grown up with it as I did the first one when she was a baby. She knows all the monsters and it is so sweet when she goes and picks up my books,” she said. “One day she was having a total tantrum over something and got angry.

“I said are you feeling angry like George and I said why don’t you lie down and that’s what she did. Even younger children can pull things from it as they grow up.”

Jodi’s books – and accompanying soft toys – can be purchased through her website at https://www.futurefootstepscoaching.co.uk/shop.