Jackson Speaks: And His Plan to Win the Competition and Definitely Not Fall Flat on His Face!

By Nakeshia Nickerson and Onur Ayboga

Jackson Namibia is a typical middle grade schooler who dreads not only his first day of school, but the "crime spree three". 

A group of rough and tough students he gave that name to last year. We follow along as Jackson enters a new school year and is faced with the scariest, most overwhelming task he has ever taken on, standing up for himself. But defending himself and his friends from bullies aren't his biggest obstacles, believing in himself is. We watch as he enters a competition that challenges more than his popularity, but the very impression Jackson has of himself. He meets some pretty big feelings as he realizes he already possess all of the qualities to overcome the very thing he is afraid to do. 

This heartwarming tale about courage in the face of anxiety, fear and doubt takes us on a wild ride as he flops between finding the courage to win the biggest contest he's ever been in or the chances of him just landing flat on his face. "Jackson Speaks is a captivating and appealing story about conquering difference. The powerful embedded strategies will support and transform the reader's self-doubt to self-confidence."

 - Gloriane R. Smith, Literacy Program Manager

 "Nickerson eloquently presents the reader with topics and events parent, students and educators encounter today, more than ever before in the educational setting. I am particularly impressed and thrilled about the importance placed on parents support of their child's emotional needs throughout the story. As a school counselor, I will certainly use this book to guide small group lessons with students; discussing themes such as bullying, having a growth mindset, positive self-estem and relevance in their lives."

 - Nichole Q. McCroskey, Med School Counselor 

Reading Age: 6 - 10 Grade Level: 1 - 4 580L

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665564458

Nakeshia Nickerson

Nakeshia Nickerson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended The Ohio State University for studies in Psychology and Japanese. While in college, she began writing encouraging stories and poems for young adults. In 2005, she turned to a focus in children’s fiction on sensitive and important issues after she began writing bedtime story’s and poems for her nephews about a group of friends who live on a street called Tulvia Lane. Even after they grew past adolescence, for eight years, Nakeshia continued writing her ideas and concepts for the Tulvia Lane stories, eventually developing a multibook children’s series. Those years she took care and time to ensure the series was viable and based with sound psychology teachings. In 2013, Nakeshia published the first book from the series named “Gammie”, the book became an instant success. With each subsequent year the book’s sales continues to grow exponentially, encouraging the release of more books in the series. Since penning her books, she has published articles on Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington’s behavior change, health and wellness site and has been featured by Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, Jack and Jill of America, News channel 5, News channel 8 and various schools and libraries. Nakeshia Nickerson now writes full-time. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her family.

Book preview

© 2022 Nakeshia Nickerson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/28/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6446-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6445-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912816

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

The Story behind the Story

Chapter 1First Day of School Says It All

Chapter 2The Crime Spree Three

Chapter 3Can This Get Any Worse?

Chapter 4I Tripped Over A Water Noodle

Chapter 5What’s the Worse That Can Happen?

Chapter 6My Growth Pal – A Journal for Jackson

Chapter 7Jackson for President

Chapter 8Me, the Popular Guy?

Chapter 9… And The Student Council President Is!

10 Things you may not know about Nakeshia Nickerson

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Praise for Nakeshia Nickerson’s

Jackson Speaks

and his plan to win the competition AND

DEFINITELY not fall flat on his face!

Nickerson eloquently presents the reader with topics and events parent, students and educators encounter today, more than ever before in the educational setting. I am particularly impressed and thrilled about the importance placed on parents support of their child’s emotional needs throughout the story. As a school counselor, I will certainly use this book to guide small group lessons with students; discussing themes such as bullying, having a growth mindset, positive self-esteem, and the relevance in their lives.

–Nichole Q. McCroskey, Med School Counselor

Jackson Speaks is a captivating and appealing story about conquering difference. The powerful embedded strategies will support and transform the reader’s self-doubt to self-confidence.

–Gloriane R. Smith, Literacy Program Manager

This book from the Little Boots Grow series is about ... Courage, taking on difficulty in the face of fear.

...a book about knowing the power of what you can achieve and overcome.

Jackson finds the courage to compete for student council president, then quickly finds out the importance of standing up for himself and others in the process. With continued obstacles of self-doubt, negative talk, bullies, and insecurity, we watch as Jackson realizes he already possess all the qualities to overcome the very thing he is afraid to do. With the support of his friends and family, he discovers he can do anything.

Anyone at all could and should read the Little Boots Book Club and Journals:

It’s a fantastic way to remind children the power of learning, growth and the value of their own self-perception and self-talk. There are many areas in our books where we discussed feelings such as being frustrated, overwhelmed, and under influenced; and we teach how to utilize emotional develop skills such as coping, positive self-talk, growth mindset and more.

It’s true, any and every one can benefit from our resources, we have made them easiest read alone by Ages: 6-10 and Grades: 2nd – 5th

All younger readers should use the assistance of family or educator.

The Little Boots Grow Book and Journal Clubs Supporting programs: Let’s go deeper into the growth….

Instructional/Parent Guide:

This tool assists parents, guardians, teachers or counselors as they discuss the subject of anxiety, self doubt, bullies and courage with your child.

The Growth Journal

This outstanding journal provides your child with many tools to work through negative thoughts and anxiety using their very own guide and workbook with the Growth Journal.

What happens when kids use our tools:

Your child will experience a higher self esteem, they learn more about emotional intelligence, they take on new and exciting challenges, they learn problem solving and they learn to love and accept themselves.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

My name is Nakeshia Nickerson, during my studies of psychology at The Ohio State University I felt a tremendous call on my life to write stories for children, but not just any stories – stories that are meaningful - that teach essential life skills we all need as we grow. Life skills that have the ability to change the trajectory of a loved one’s life, yet many times aren’t learned until well into a persons adult years. I understood this impact early on and became determined to make a huge change to that, and so, The Little Boots Grow Book and Journal Club was created.

The Little Boots Grow Book and Journal Club follows a group of friends as they grow together living on a street called Tulvia Lane. The stories follow along in the adventures of each friend as they experience different backgrounds, different genders and different lifestyles – and it’s their friendship that supports them through it all. This series feature lots of fun as these friends navigate childhood and friendship while learning some deep life-lessons that will benefit them for decades to come. Spoiler alert – these lessons are just as much for adults as they are for adolescents. In order for our children to shine bright in their lives, they have to have a certain level of knowledge of all the topics the Little Boots Grow Club teach.

"…a engaging and wonderful story about

learning all the things you can overcome."

For J.F., the little Angel who reminded me of my purpose.

And for all the children in the world who’ve dealt

with childhood adversity, bullying, automatic

negative self-talk, low self-esteem, illness, or abuse.

Those who can still dream through

it all. This book is for you.

Always – N.N.

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For all the Parents, Guardians and Educator out there,

Whether you purchased this book to support your child through bullying, fear, self-doubt or anxiety; and influencing courage, resilience and confidence instead.

To enjoy the story of Jackson Nambia becoming school council president or just to support this book series -You are Absolutely Amazing!

Each and every investment into this series is an investment into a child’s life. Your support and help to continue bringing new books and journal to life helps more than you could ever know.

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CHAPTER 1

First Day of School Says It