The Nutmeg character is now happily adopted, however sometimes he feels cross and sad - and he really doesn't know why.

Like Nutmeg, adopted children may at times experience 'butterflies in their tummies', 'muddled heads' making it difficult to think clearly, or angry reactions to siblings and friends, and destructive impulses - but will be quite unable to explain their behaviour or strong feelings.

This story, written by Judith Foxon and illustrated by Sarah Rawlings, will help parents and professionals working with children in this situation to understand what may be causing them to feel cross, confused and sad and to help them to heal by identifying and exploring possible reasons for painful feelings that are likely to surface following adoption - often triggered by seemingly happy events such as birthdays or contact with birth siblings, but also due to problems at school such as bullying and being behind their peers.

We met Nutmeg and his younger sister and brother in the earlier and well-received story, Nutmeg Gets Adopted (published by BAAF last year). The colourful illustrations again feature the woodland characters of the previous story and while the book can be used simply as a story, it can also be used as a workbook and as a tool for therapy.

The text is accompanied by practice guidelines which explain the significance of each stage of the story and thoughts and feelings which may be explored. The benefits of tears, touching gently while talking with your child, and hugging with the whole family are also explained.

Nutmeg Gets Cross' author, Judith Foxon, is an adoption worker with the Catholic Children's Society, Nottingham, with extensive experience of direct work with children. As an adoptive parent and foster carer herself, she remains strongly committed to developing better ways of helping families to communicate with and support their children.

The book is available from BAAF and costs RRP £10.00 + £2.50 p&p.

Click to buy: Nutmeg Gets Cross