Turning Cartwheels: When trying to fit in leaves you in a spin

Emma is desperate to join Carly’s Cartwheel Club. But is being in Carly’s club as much fun as Emma thinks it will be? A clever exploration of the social bullying conducted by ‘frenemies’ that is so often experienced by primary school-aged girls. “A pleasantly illustrated, hard cover picture book to read with ages 6+.”

A book about trying to fit in and find belonging and acceptance into the school group. I suggest this book is helpful for primary and intermediate aged school children who are struggling to find a group of friends where they fit in and belong, who need the encouragement to discover their own identity, strengths and to take the initiative to find ways to meet their needs free from peer pressure.

“An empowering story about finding yourself and encouraging others to do the same.”

''she decides to create a Club of her own, the Can-Do Club, a place where everybody not only belongs, but also gets a voice and choices of their own. Now doesn''t THAT have your heart doing cartwheels?''

“Turning Cartwheels is a wonderful way of showing children alternative ways to solve problems”

“Emma is desperate to join Carly''s Cartwheel Club, who show off their acrobatic tricks in the playground at lunchtime. But when Emma is finally accepted, she finds that being part of the gang isn''t as awesome as she expected.” "A story with a warm heart, with illustrations to make you giggle, with challenge, with friends and with an important message. Be yourself." “This is an energetic story about choices and not staying in situations that don’t work for you.” “An excellent addition to your collection and lessons about what friendship and bullying is, taking the reader into the realm of how friendships change as children get older.” "A sweet book with colourful and animated illustration about how exhausting it can be trying to fit in and the joy of being and individual."

"Turning Cartwheels is an excellent book to read to school aged children to start a discussion on how to be more inclusive of everyone despite their differences in abilities."

“Turning Cartwheels is an excellent story for exploring the desire to belong and the subtle bulling and exclusion children can feel. I can envisage it being used to discuss how children treat one another in the playground.”

“Many children yearn to belong to a group, to show their friends that they too are capable and worthy. This little story touches on many themes in a light-hearted way and can lead to insightful discussions about the perils and benefits of being in a group."

“Sadly bullying, cliques and fitting in are perennial issues for kids and they seem to be taking hold at an increasingly young age. This charming read will be accessible to young kids (early primary) and help them navigate this often thorny problem … I can see it inspiring young kids to start their own Can Do Clubs. This would be a great resource in the classroom as well. Highly recommended.”

“A wonderful story about finding your own strength, stepping away from those who make you feel bad, or put you down, and making goods things happen yourself.”

This book, as you’ll have gathered, covers the issues of social bullying, peer pressure, manipulative behaviour, and what real friendship is (and is not).

It will be a great resource for both schools and homes, especially useful when discussing navigating the social terrain of school. It shows the value of resilience and emphasises that we can make our own personal decisions about how we act in society.

Emma is desperate to join queen bee Carly’s Cartwheel Club. Week after week Emma lines up for a try-out, only to be told that she hasn’t made the cut. When Emma is finally accepted, she finds that Carly’s rules and requirements take all the joy out of cartwheeling, and being part of the gang isn’t as awesome as she expected. Turning Cartwheels cleverly explores the subtle, underhanded social bullying conducted by so-called ‘frenemies’ that is so often experienced by primary school-aged girls.

• | Author: Amy Adeney, Amy Calautti
• | Publisher: Exisle Publishing
• | Publication Date: Feb 03, 2021
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781925820515
• | ISBN-10: 1925820513