The unnamed, brown-skinned, brown-haired first-person narrator has a puppy in her head named Ollie. Sometimes Ollie gets too excited or scared, and the narrator has to work to calm him down with her magical leash: her breath.

The analogy is a useful one, and readers of all ages can benefit from using mindfulness strategies to manage stress and anxiety. ( )

This book uses the metaphor of a puppy to describe the emotions and thoughts going through a child's brain. It helpfully explains dealing with these emotions, including deep breaths to help calm down when feeling overwhelmed.

I had high expectations for this book and they weren't quite met. I loved the general idea but felt that the author needed to explain at some point more explicitly that the puppy was a stand-in and not real. My 10-year-old niece got that, but I'll brag a bit to say she's a little more emotionally intelligent than kids her age, plus younger readers will probably be picking this up as well, especially given its picture book format. There's a line towards the end that basically says everyone has a puppy in their head, including grown-ups. I could see a young child taking that quite literally and then asking a completely unawares adult about what kind of puppy is in their head. (And for the record, we aren't all dog lovers so some adults and children might prefer visualizing a different animal in their mind.)

The illustrations are relatively simple and crisp, which makes sense to keep the focus sharp and not bombarding the reader with lots of extraneous details. ( )

This book is built around a great metaphor and should be a helpful tool in working with children to identify and cope with their anxieties. Fun pages and cute art just make it a joy to read also. ( )