Smack Dab in the Middle

I love your yearlong focus on reader superhero qualities and I am excited to share my current favorite superhero quality. It’s taken from a practice we have at my school where I am a librarian for kiddos from preK to 5th grade. It’s a list of traits that can support students (and staff) in their work and social emotional growth at school, and has the acronyms PAWS (we are the wildcats so yeah, PAWS). All the letters stand for superhero traits but W, which stands for winning attitude, is my favorite. A winning attitude is basically making a choice of how to react when frustrating or disappointing things happen. The advice to do this is solid: deep breathing, taking a break, positive self talk and then, if needed, the pivot- figure out how to go forward in this new landscape. This is a great recipe for so many disappointments and frustrations in life, and it’s something I have often had to turn to in my life as an author.   Writing books is super fun and awesome, and it’s also re...