‘Lucky and Mucky’ Book Launch – Melbourne
Review by Sumaiya Rizvi – instagram.com/melbourne_blog
Images Courtesy of Helen Reizer HRPR
Elsternwick’s Classic Cinema was the setting for the recent launch of Nicole Ben-Simon’s beautifully written book Lucky and Mucky, an event held as part of the International Children’s Film Festival (ICFF). First time author Ms. Ben-Simon was soon engaged in signing copies and interacting with her enthusiastic young audience, before reading excerpts from the book.
The author explained that Lucky and Mucky is a book about the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ that live within us; a story that focuses around the central character Karma – a young girl observing the people in her life, and the decisions they make. The story begins on the first day, where Karma meets Lucky and Mucky – the manifestations of her emotions.
The following is an excerpt from the book, where Karma explains to us what she means by feelings: Lucky and Mucky:
Lucky was a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Lucky was friendly and made Karma feel good about herself.
Lucky was the voice inside Karma’s head that gave her good advice and showed her the right way to behave.
Lucky made Karma feel loved, peaceful and was a true friend.
But…
Mucky was a cold and blurry feeling.
Mucky made Karma feel bad about herself and negative towards other people.
Mucky made Karma feel frightened and unloved and would appear when she wasn’t paying attention.
Often, Karma would feel her heart beating really fast when Mucky was around.
Mucky was not a nice friend at all.
‘This is a self-awareness style book of real life situations woven into exemplary stories’. The purpose of the book is to help children overcome challenging situations in their day-to-day life. Imparting a positive message, it is certain to instil a sense of security and calmness when your kid is faced with an unexpected and demanding situation that life throws their way. The stories are woven together in a meticulous way that will help your child easily understand and emulate the good behavioural traits that the character portrays. Throughout the book Karma is faced with situations, and taught to be calm and collected. Karma teaches us to take a deep breath every time she faces difficulty. It is an eye opener for both parents and adults in general, delivering a subtle yet important message.
With thought provoking themes including the ability to ‘teach children about the power of choice’’, along with A.D. Lester’s superb illustrations, Lucky and Mucky is a book destined to be a family favourite.
Book: Lucky and Mucky
Author: Nicole Ben-Simon
Age Group: 5 -10 years
Purchase: https://www.facebook.com/luckyandmuckybook/
**Sumaiya was a guest of Helen Reizer HRPR
Connie Lambeth
The Australia Times News
Editor GOURMET – Food/Wine/Events
connie.lambeth@theaustraliatimes.com.au
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