Children who experience serious trauma are a special case and need special handling. Alec, a young alligator, is just such a one, and he and his toy alligator, Al, are learning to handle the results of whatever trauma Alec has suffered. It has given him unhappy memories of the strongest kinds, and he has learned that he has different 'parts' to himself - some are reasonable, like one part liking school and another part wanting to stay away and play. But there other parts that help him with the scary things. Spacey helps him get far away from the fears by becoming a space man and flying from them in a cosy space suit. But when he doesn't want to fly away, he has a great game to play, a countdown from five to one, where he counts things he can see, then things he can feel, things he can hear, and things he can smell. When he finishes this game, he can concentrate again. The Destroyer is the part that makes him angry and lets him smash things, and when he finishes, he is unhappy with himself. Then he does breathing exercises to help him calm down. When he is Puddles, he cries a lot and needs to find a 'super-safe place' to snuggle down, and Al is a great comfort at such times. When he becomes Jumbles, his 'tummy feels a little tumbly and his brain is a little Bumbly' and he is confused. This necessitates some further breathing and muscle exercises. Sometimes he likes to talk about the scary things, but at other times, he draws pictures and becomes Scribbles, and that makes him feel better. Mostly, he is himself, and he only needs these special 'parts' when he is remembering the scary things. Alex is a lovable little alligator, and he will appeal to children with different kinds of background experiences. The illustrations are wonderful too, and show the wide range of emotions that children with intense fears can exhibit. Extremely useful for severely traumatised children. Available from Amazon, from good book shops, and from the publisher at www.jkp.com.