The Red Beast

Helping Children on the Autism Spectrum to Cope with Angry Feelings

Kay Al-Ghani author Haitham Al-Ghani illustrator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Published:21st Jul '22

Should be back in stock very soon

The Red Beast cover

A story book to help autistic and other SEN children depersonalise anger through learned strategies

Deep inside everyone, a red beast lies sleeping. The second edition of this vibrant, fully illustrated children's storybook is written for children aged 4-9 has been updated with inclusive up-to-date language and new illustrations to make sure every child's red beast can be tamed!

Deep inside everyone, a red beast lies sleeping.

When it is asleep, the red beast is quite small, but when it wakes up, it begins to grow and grow.

This is the story of a red beast that was awakened.


Danni is in the school playground when his friend, Charlie, kicks a ball that hits him in the stomach, waking up the sleeping red beast: `I hate you - I'm gonna get you!'. The red beast doesn't hear the teacher asking if he's okay. It doesn't see that Charlie is sorry - how can Danni tame the red beast?

The second edition of this vibrant fully illustrated children's storybook is written for children aged 4-9, and has been updated with inclusive up-to-date language and new illustrations to make sure every child's red beast can learn to be tamed! This is an accessible, fun way to talk about anger, with useful tips about how to 'tame the red beast' and guidance for parents on how anger affects children who struggle to regulate their emotions.

You can now also buy the Red Beast Workbook, an accompanying interactive resource to help autistic children learn how to identify anger triggers and develop self-regulation.

A startling original book about anger management. -- Healthybooks.org.uk
The illustrations are bold, vibrant in colour and child-friendly because they look like a very artistic child has drawn and then coloured them. There are 11 great strategies suggested at the back of the book, which are easy to implement and these alone make this terrific book work buying. -- Early Years Educator
The author offers strategies to tackle the uncontrollable outbursts of rage by children with special needs, which can be so difficult to contend with. "Inside every one of us lies a Red Beast sleeping. Asleep, the beast is small and harmless but when it wakes up, it grows into a destructive monster. This is a description that most parents of children with speical needs will recognise. -- BILD
This book has excellent tips for parents and teachers. This beautifully illustrated and child-friendly book, aimed at children aged 5-9,offers a host of strategies for anger management -- National Autism Society
This beautifully illustrated and child friendly book, aimed at children aged five to nine, offers a host of strategies for anger management. This book has excellent tips for parents and teachers. -- Communication
I cannot recommend this wonderful book highly enough... The book helps children to understand what is happening to them when they get angry. The author cleverly describes anger as a red beast... The wonderful illustrations and simple story help children to talk about how their red beast makes them feel and how they can learn to tame it. The author also takes time to explain the strategies used to support children with ASD... I would definitely recommend this for any parent who is struggling with an angry child. -- Wellbeing Mentor blog
This new edition of The Red Beast gently promotes and supports children's perceptions of self-efficacy and being 'in control' of angry feelings by offering simple but effective coping strategies. It is a gem of a picture book and a valuable addition to the resources available for children on the autism spectrum. -- Deborah M. Plummer, Author of Using Imagination, Mindful Play and Creative Thinking to Support Wellbeing and Resilience in Children (2022) and the best selling Helping Children to Build Self-Esteem
This wonderful, updated resource adds to the author's repertoire of helpful books dedicated to supporting neurodivergent children. Al-Ghani uses a creative visualisation to help the child and young person by depersonalising the emotion and by teaching the reader strategies in order to take ownership of their anger. Using comic-style illustrations, this is a literary piece of work that empowers the young reader by also showing an inclusive classroom at it's best. The child is fully supported, nurtured and removed from the notion of blame. This is a must read for anyone working with children. -- Danielle Jata-Hall, public speaker, PDA advocate, and author of I'm Not Upside Down, I'm Downside Up!
A characteristic of autism is to be a visual learner. The concept of an internal Red Beast provides an effective visualization to explain and manage anger. This book will tame the beast and everyone will feel safe and calm. -- Professor Tony Attwood

ISBN: 9781839972751

Dimensions: 222mm x 282mm x 10mm

Weight: 380g

40 pages

Illustrated edition