EVEN the best of us have bad days, and a children’s author from the district has set about making sure young people learn how to cope with them.

Margi McAllister has penned about 40 books for youngsters over a period of 25 years, and her latest offering has been years in the making.

For the Hexham woman has worked with children in various capacities, as a parent, grandparent, teacher, and as a leader of church activities.

Now she has teamed up with health and care professionals to deliver the book she wished was available during her own childhood.

The Good Thing About Bad Days is a warming, practical book full of advice, activities, and encouraging messages to help children, aged five to nine years, express and cope with their emotions.

It also helps them to deal with different situations in positive ways which raise self esteem, and contains the strong message that 'the good thing about bad days is that they come to an end'.

“We all know that children have busy lives,” said Margi. “There will be bad days and in some cases, they can overcome some challenges themselves.

“The book looks at how they can find their own inner strengths, but it also acknowledges that sometimes we do need to talk to somebody.

“This isn’t always easy, and the book explores ways of helping a child to talk, who to tell, and how to tell.

“If you’re having a rough day, it will come to an end, but there are strategies for dealing with it.”

The book, which was launched at Cogito Books in Hexham last week, was written prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Margi acknowledged that lockdown would have brought about many challenges which the book could help to overcome.

The Good Thing About Bad Days has contributions from Dr Claire Parsons, who works as a GP in Sheffield, as well as retired social worker Helen Hay, and daughter-in-law Jo Buglass, who is a counsellor.

Space is provided for children to draw or jot down their thoughts and responses.

The book also offers advice for parents and carers, and includes verses from Psalms and other books of the Bible, and quotations from other sources.

The author, however, stressed that the book was not a religious text, and was for all children, regardless of their faith or beliefs.

Margi, who grew up in Cullercoats in North Tyneside, moved to Tynedale in the 1990s with her husband, Methodist minister the Rev. Tony Buglass, before settling in Hexham.

In addition to writing books, she has taught drama and dancing, worked as a supply school teacher, and organised church clubs and activities for children.

The Good Thing About Bad Days is also available at lionhudson.com.