Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings

Literary Titan Gold Winning Book

Royal DragonFly Book Awards Finalist

Speak up Radio Firebird Book Award Winner

Gratitude is a powerful tool to make those icky feelings of jealousy from the “Green-Eyed Monster” disappear.

”Counting All My Blessings” is a story with social emotional learning (SEL) in mind. It has been praised by parents and teachers worldwide.

When there's a new baby in your home, it's easy for a child to feel jealous or forgotten because the baby will need lots of attention and care. But having the right people there for you can change everything. You can learn to be thankful for all the things in your life instead of focusing on the bad things. 

In the next installment of the delightful Honeycake book series, Nala’s mom and papa are celebrating the birth of their newborn son. But, when baby Luka receives so many presents and all the attention, Nala becomes angry and green with envy.

With the help of her grandmother, Nala learns the importance of gratitude and how being thankful for all the wonderful things she has in her life equips her with a powerful tool to make those icky feelings of jealousy from the “Green-Eyed Monster” disappear.

This book teaches children the importance of gratitude and how to focus on what matters most in life. Showing gratitude is a great way to find balance in the materialistic culture we live in today.

Readers give this book and series a 5.0 out of 5 stars!

A NICE WAY TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE JEALOUSY 

“My daughter loves this book. It taught her what it meant being jealous and how to deal with her emotions. She refers to the green eyed monster now when she feels jealous and we talk about what we could be grateful for. She liked it so much that she brought her book at school to share it with her friends.”

A CUTE CHILDREN’S BOOK WITH A GOOD LESSON

“Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings is the fifth book in the Honeycake series. However, this is my first foray into the series. I have to say, I really liked this story, and I think it's a great book for parents of young readers (and older readers, too). The story has a great lesson to be learned within the pages, and I think both children and adults can benefit from understanding that feelings of jealousy are normal, but realizing and remembering all of the good things in your life is beneficial. ​The story follows Nala (aka Honeycake, her nickname) as she goes to the hospital with her aunt and uncle and grandparents to see her new baby brother. But when they arrive, Nala gets an icky feeling in her tummy after seeing all of the attention and gifts being lavished on Luka. Nala's grandma then takes her aside to explain about her jealous feelings, and how to banish them by counting her blessings. Nala also receives a gratitude journal so she can write down three things she's grateful for each day. As someone who remembers the jealous, icky feelings I had when my little sister was born, and as someone who has struggled with feelings of jealousy a lot throughout my teenage years and early twenties, I could relate to Nala quite a bit. I just wish I had had someone to help me when I was younger so I could have learned to deal with those feelings at an early age. It did take until my thirties before I finally started to count my blessings and keep a gratitude journal myself. Better late than never, I suppose. As a parent, I would definitely recommend this book for young readers. It's a good way for parents to open a discussion with their children about feelings and how to overcome them or deal with them in a healthy way.”

A GREAT EXERCISE IN GRATITUDE FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN

“After reading Honeycake: Family of Spices, I fell in love with Nala and her grandma. I knew I had to read Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings by Medea Kalantar. Nala has been staying with her aunt and uncle while her parents are at the hospital. Her mom is about to have a baby. After the baby is born, Nala’s aunt and uncle take her and her grandparents to the hospital for a visit. When they arrive, there are other relatives also there to see the new baby. Many have brought gifts. But Nala is having a difficult time with this change. Everyone seems to be giving the new baby more attention than her. And of course Nala wants to know why the baby gets so many presents and she isn’t getting anything. When Nala cries out, grandma decides it’s time to go outside for some fresh air. Then grandma helps Nala talk through her feelings and gives Nala something special. The illustrations for Counting All My Blessings are bigger than in Family of Spices which will definitely help when reading to larger groups. Preschool is an age and when many children are adjusting to new siblings so it is a great time to read this book and talk through feelings of all kinds. For a home library, this would be a good book to read a few times before a new baby arrives. I especially like how not only did the font size change, but also the text color changed when Nala was speaking with bigger feelings.”

It's the perfect gift for all teachers and children, preschool through grade 3. It helps caregivers and educators start an age-appropriate conversation on the importance of gratitude and help children cope with a range of emotions and teach them that they indeed hold the power to choose their actions and reactions.

Parents and Teachers Toolbox: Honeycake is an empowering series curated to empower young children to become aware of big emotions.