Mayfield Secondary School graduates publish book on coping with anxiety

October 2, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Copper the Cloud Finds His Calm, written by Alexa De Jesus and Mia Coschignano, follows Copper, who sometimes feels weighed down by big emotions.

Copper learns simple ways to calm his mind and body, helping children understand what anxiety can feel like and showing that with a bit of support, they can find their calm, just like Copper.

The two authors met in Grade Nine at Mayfield Secondary School and, now out of high school, have brought their ideas together for a book, something they both wished to pursue.

“I wanted to write a book, and I knew I wanted it to focus on anxiety because growing up, I have a lot of anxiety, and just recently I had a period where I just felt so anxious and I needed to describe it,” explained De Jesus.

De Jesus described Coschignano as her “brain cell” who edited and illustrated the book, and helped to bring the idea of Copper the Cloud to life.

They shared that it was a collaborative process, going back and forth with rewriting and redrawing.

Coschignano, who has also dealt with anxiety since she was young, said one of the therapy techniques that she had learned was to imagine her negative thoughts as clouds passing by and to “pluck them out.”

She said she also loved the visual aspect of a cloud, using weather to demonstrate Copper’s different feelings.

De Jesus, currently in her final year of teacher’s college, wanted to have a children’s book for her own classroom.

De Jesus noted that when she first began writing the book, she wanted it to focus on the aspect of “overcoming anxiety.”

“We deal with anxiety and it’s so present in our everyday lives and you just want it to go away,” she said.

But, in discussion with Coschignano, they realized the true meaning is about teaching kids how to cope with it instead of trying to get rid of it, “because anxiety doesn’t go away.”

They shared that they wanted to bring it into schools as it’s something they see every day, even in adults.

The book is for “everybody,” they said.

“It’s an important resource not only just for kids, but also for their parents to be able to understand,” says Coschignano. “In children, sometimes anxiety can be perceived not necessarily as what it is. It can be confusing even for adults, and I think it helps not only the kids understand their emotions, but it can help the parents understand how to deal with their children’s emotions.”

At the end of their book, additional resources and techniques are provided.

The last line of the book, “With all the right tools, Copper knows that he will be okay,” Coschignano said, is a reminder that it’s about learning to cope with anxiety, not get rid of it.

“I hope they understand that we’re here for them and there’s support and resources. So, I hope our book is another resource, and I do hope it becomes popular for kids because it does have such a great message and it should be out there,” said De Jesus.

Coschignano shared that she hopes the book serves as a reminder to many that “they’re not alone,” and that they’re not the only ones going through it.

Seeing the positive response the book has already received on Amazon, De Jesus shared that it is a “dream come true.”