The statistics around the mental health of children in our country is heart-breaking. We are seeing more and more children and youth are showing signs of mental illness. The task to rectify this is immense and will require the input and support from many different sectors. This children's book is a contribution to this effort. It has been written with prevention in mind.

The book follows the journey of a young girl, Lucy, who wakes up one morning to discover a Happy Moon in her side. Lucy discovers the moon is a best-friend-kind-of-moon who helps her in fun times and the difficult times. The Happy Moon understands what she is feeling, helps her to see things differently, and suggests useful actions to take. The Happy Moon follows the resilience-building pattern of empathy, perspective, and action, or put more simply: feel, think, do. At the back of the book are tools to help parents, carers, and educators develop children's emotional awareness, resilience, and wellbeing. These are skills that will also help them as they grow into adulthood.

This book has been designed for readers who want to provide something for their child to read on their own and then discuss or for reading to their child. There is a downloadable sheet available on the MindHealth.org website for families and educators to further assist their child or the children they are teaching.

Richard is the founder and director of Mind Health (mindhealth.org).

Through counselling, training, and public speaking, Richard helps people strengthen their thinking, be proactive in relationships, and succeed with life. He understands the everyday struggles that people face.

Richard is an ordained minister and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Canterbury University, a Bachelor of Divinity from Laidlaw College, and a Masters of Counselling from Massey University. He lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with his wife, Jennifer. They have three children.