Mindy & Mind

The adventures of a girl and her thoughts

This is the story of Mindy and her constant companion Mind. Young readers follow Mindy through her packed day and they learn along with her that Mind can sometimes lead her astray. Together with Mindy they discover ways to manage those anxieties, confusion and fears that Mind occasionally inspires.

Mindy & Mind

Mindy & Mind •

Every child gets nervous or afraid from time to time. This book is a fun way to help kids learn how to cope with those unhelpful feelings.

Take a peek inside

The science behind the story

Each of the mini-conflicts that Mindy and Mind had in this story was based on something called a “cognitive bias”. Cognitive biases are subconscious errors in thinking our brains make as they attempt to simplify and sort information. We all have them, and they can lead to poor decision making and unnecessary emotional stress.

The goal of this book is to introduce young children to the empowering idea that their mind isn’t always right.

  • This is our tendency to overweight the importance and effect of negative things. It’s why we remember criticism better than praise. It’s why we think about negative things more than positive things. And it’s why Mind was so focused on all the bad outcomes that could happen if Mindy tried out for the play.

  • We very often leap to the conclusion that what someone does is who they are. We see someone do something we think is bad, and we assume they’re a bad person. That’s how Mind reacted to the bus driver not playing the radio that morning.

  • When evaluating a situation, often the conclusion that comes to us the fastest is one based on extreme or recent information. So when trying to determine what that scary “tree-like” thing was outside the window, Mind latched on to the outrageous, but unlikely, idea that it was a monster.

  • As a belief or a behavior gains popularity, individuals often join in—not because of any coherent reason—but simply because others are doing it. It’s common among children who often don’t want to stand out from their peers. It was this force that Mindy was resisting when she didn’t want to make fun of Victor.

  • We tend to prefer things and people we are familiar with while finding the unfamiliar less appealing. This is exactly what Mind and Mindy had to deal with when Farida’s mother put an unusual new food in front of them.

What the experts are saying about “Mindy & Mind”

Mindy and Mind is an ageless depiction of how the human cognitive spirit moves through internal emotional regulation. Filled with relatable examples that normalize the everyday iterations of thought, the reader is reminded of mind-body-emotion-behavior connections necessary for healthy emotional and behavioral regulation.

This book is uniquely poised to extend this genre with visuals that appeal across the lifespan and opportunities to embark on one’s own personal cognitive adventure.

Elise Arruda Laorenza, PhD, LMHC

Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist

Mindy and Mind is an engaging and beautifully illustrated story that introduces young readers and the adults in their lives to the important concept of metacognition. Examining how we think and process information, often in erroneous ways, is an important skill in building resilience and self-regulation as well as having open and rich experiences with the people and world around us.

This book is a wonderful springboard for parents and teachers to engage children in these vital discussions.

Lauren M. Hirsch, MD

Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist

I liked the theater part…the book helped me calm down.

— Aiden (age 5)

My mind makes things up that are scary but they’re not real.”

— Rumi (age 7)

The book helped with monsters at night.

— Lucas (age 5)