Basking Ridge Elementary Student Launches Book To Help Other Kids

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A Basking Ridge elementary school student is helping special needs children to smile using speech bubbles through her new book.

Amy Richman, who is 8 years old, designed and published “The Speech Bubble Book: Mantras for Kids,” a colorful book of kind words and phrases that these children say to themselves and to one another for encouragement, support, laughs and inspiration. It is described as a “chicken soup for the little soul.”

“Being a good friend is important to me,” said Richman. “It makes me feel happy when I can help someone to feel happy or calm. I have a friend with autism who sometimes can’t keep her emotions in control. I touch her shoulder and talk to her in a way that calms her down. Now, when she sees me, she is excited and shouts my name.”

When making their speech bubbles, Amy and her friends were asked to put themselves into the shoes of someone else. It could be a special needs child, a friend who is feeling sad or someone in their class who was acting like a bully. They were urged to consider how that individual felt, and instructed to write down what they would say to turn around their feelings or attitude. The result was magical.

Richman also designed a yellow speech bubble pin for kindness urging kids and adults alike to speak up for kindness.

“Yellow is the color of kindness and friendship,” said Richman. “By wearing the pin, we are committed to being kind and also speaking up when we see someone being unkind to another person.”

A speech-bubble-themed kindness curriculum is also available for free through Richman’s web site. It offers ideas for creating kindness in the classroom, community and home for teachers, Girl and Boy Scout leaders, camp directors and parents.

“Kindness is the antidote to many of today’s most prominent issues amongst kids and adults,” said Perri Richman, Amy's mom. “The root cause of bullying, low self-esteem, hate, exclusionary behavior and discrimination can be linked back to a lack of kindness. Think about the multiplying impact of just 10 people making a commitment to speaking up for kindness.”

Proceeds from the Book

All proceeds from “The Speech Bubble Book: Mantras for Kids” are donated to Basking Ridge, NJ-based non-profit organization, Kids Supporting Kids. Kids Supporting Kids is dedicated to helping kids be fluent in kindness. The organization does a series of community-based activations designed for elementary-aged kids to help and support other children in their communities. More information is available at www.kidssupportingkidsbr.org.

Author Events

Richman is available for select appearances at school and community events. She does book readings and discussions, and an arts and craft project where kids and adults can make their own speech bubble mantras. Speech bubble art projects can be taken home or donated to NJ-based children’s hospitals.

Shop Local or Buy Online

The Speech Bubble Book and pins are available locally at the Rebecca Collection at (2 Minebrook Road, Bernardsville). The book is available on www.amazon.com for $9.38, and the books and pins can be ordered through www.amsabra.com.

(Images provided: Amy Richman, 8, of Basking Ridge is the author of “The Speech Bubble Book: Mantras for Kids.”)

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