My Busy, Busy Brain: The ABCDs of ADHD, a Resource and Children's Book about ADHD

“My Busy, Busy Brain: The ABCD’s of ADHD” is a colorful journey of a young girl named Nicole navigating her feelings as she deals with her ADHD at school, learning to advocate for herself, and discussing both the difficulties and the best parts about having ADHD along with her class. She learns to be confident in her uniqueness and ask for help alongside all of her peers in her very diverse classroom, and expresses all her emotions to the reader in a simplistic way. Perhaps most importantly, Nicole finds out that she is not alone and that adults are there to support her.I would definitely recommend this book to other educators and families because of its focus on teaching children to be advocates for themselves. Any child reading this book would benefit from reading it, because it brings awareness to and normalizes practical struggles a child with ADHD has, and models confidence and appreciation for diversity. The main character of the book talks openly about ADHD in her classroom, explaining what things are extra difficult for her to her peers. Explaining ADHD in understandable terms, along with other simple strategies for coping with ADHD, is a great example for children to know how to live daily life with ADHD and not feel ashamed or confused about their diagnosis. Using various fonts and sizes for the text to represent emotions and fun, colorful artwork is also a great way to make the learning memorable and engaging in this book.MORE THOUGHTSI would feel very comfortable putting this on the shelf of a preschool or kindergarten shelf, because it provides lots of mirrors and windows for children and is very visually appealing. It features a lot of diversity, including different types of hair, skin colors, cultural clothing, skin conditions, both male and female characters, and children with different interests, which reflects diversity that children will encounter in their lives and gives positive representation of the uniqueness of every child. This book does an excellent job of honoring diversity and providing representation for many different children, which is one of its strongest features. Children who do have ADHD will feel better understood, because the book addresses both positive and negative feelings felt by children who have ADHD, and it features interesting pictures that represent the mind of a child with ADHD and how their brain’s process their environment. It is an encouraging story of the benefits of having confidence and asking for help, and that theme is important for all children to learn. Children who read the book that do not have ADHD will have a window to better understand why some of their peers are dealing with those symptoms and may need to ask for help. The sentences are simple to understand and written in a vibrant way, with certain words made larger to emphasize importance and strength, and others tilted to different angles to represent disorganization, which is stimulating for children and helps them pay attention to the emotions behind certain words.When sharing this book with families, I would want to make sure that they have basic knowledge about the cause of ADHD and its implications on a child’s life and behavior, so that when they read the book to their child they can give them accurate information about the disorder and feel confident in guiding them if they have ADHD. I would highly suggest it to parents of children who have ADHD especially, because it will help children make connections about what they are struggling with at home and at school, and will encourage them to be confident in advocating for their needs at school knowing that they have parental support at home. It would encourage good conversations about the things that make us unique and special since it features so much diversity for children to ask about, and gives them an opportunity to feel safe expressing the more difficult emotions that they may experience.The vocabulary in the book is very much appropriate and simple for children to understand. The only terminology that could be confusing for children is the use of the term ADHD, since children may or may not have ever been exposed to that term or what it stands for. However, it is explained well by the behaviors associated with it described/pictured in the book, so children can begin to associate that term with the thoughts and actions that they recognize in the pictures and words, even if they don’t understand the big words in “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”. There is a lot of writing and use of onomatopoeias, which make the writing more engaging and memorable.When I read this book I felt emotional because of how casually and positively ADHD was talked about, rather than being stigmatized or viewed only in a negative light as I have often seen it. I felt moved by how well it addressed the negative feelings that come along with struggling with ADHD in the classroom, because I realized that all my time struggling with my own undiagnosed ADHD as a child made me feel all of those things in high levels, and I have no representation in books to help me understand those feelings. Seeing how both the main character’s father and teacher guided and supported her as she navigated her behaviors and asked for help was very encouraging to me, because I envisioned children seeing that asking for help is a positive thing, and knowing that the adults in their life will understand them and know how to help them. Because of my own experiences with feeling rejected and misunderstood when expressing my struggles as a child, I rejoice at something that educates parents and children about ADHD and shows them empathy for the behaviors that come with mental disorders.

Our 7 year old was recently diagnosed with ADHD and although there are a bunch of books for parents to read, the resources for younger kids is limited. This was perfect for our 7 year old and she loves it! It talks about a child during her school day and of the many possible distractions that can plague a child (any child for that matter) with ADHD. It also states in a very positive manner how ADHD shows up in her life...she has a superpower that allows her to think about several different things at once but like all superpowers, it needs to be tamed. It also gives practical things to do to counter some of the behaviors/distractions. My daughter, as confident as the girl in the story, proudly and unhesitatingly declares that she has ADHD to our family as a matter of fact...it has been a lifesaver to us and to her.

I have followed this author for some time and believe in the work she is doing for children/students in temporary housing. I work in a District 75 school (for students with disabilities) and when I learned about this book, I purchased it immediately. I find this book a safe read for students in grades K to 5. The images are real, with real people my students can and will identify with.Our district has started district-wide read alouds on a virtual platform and I am in the process of lobbying for this book to be used in the next read aloud. I believe it is important for each person to address their own truth - this book teaches students how to do that. In the words of Ralph Ellison, "When I discover who I am, I'll be free."

I love this book , it really helps explain what living with ADD is like in a easy to understand fashion . It also lets children and adults alike understand that ADD isn’t necessarily a setback , it is something to be aware of. The truth is we all have our quirks and facets of who we are that make us special and different , and the better that we can be aware and understand who we are gives us the ability to love ourselves even more . This book facilitates that deeper understanding . Hopefully after reading this book , people will have the desire to understand and love themselves more in this magical , crazy voyage we call life .

I got this book for my 6 year old son who struggles with some behaviors associated with ADHD. He does not have all of the behaviors to be diagnosed nor do I agree with labeling children in this way. I believe we can give children the tools they need to thrive without labeling. To be fair, I did notice on the cover of the book the label ADHD before I purchased, however the term was riddled throughout the entire book. For us, it wasn’t a good fit but I could see it working for some kids. Maybe show inside pictures of the book Amazon? That would have been very helpful.

We bought this book for our daughter, who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. We used the book to tell her she has ADHD just like the main character. She was so proud of her busy brain that she decided (on her own) to bring the book to school for her classmates to see, and asked the teacher if she could do a show-and-tell about it because she thought more kids need to learn about ADHD. I have never felt more proud of my girl, and I think she felt a strong connection with the character.

I love this book. I am an adult with ADHD, and I have a child with ADHD. A book that empowers young people to understand their brains and to self-advocate is so needed in the ADHD community, and something you won’t see in other children’s books about ADHD. Also, self-advocacy is an important tool for all kids to learn. I’m glad to have this book as a resource for our family.

First of all, I love the content, illustrations and positive message. The book is colorful and fast moving. I really, really wanted it to resonate with my child. However, it really fell flat for my 9 year old. She felt it was meant for really young children so she wasn't open to the content. If the author wrote another, more mature, book for tweens, I would be interested.