Ages 7 to 10 · Screen-free · Funny first

What does your child do in the ten seconds after something goes wrong?

Anything that can go wrong sometimes does. Murphy's Law for Kids turns that into nine powers a child can use. Funny first, never preachy.

Murphy's Law for Kids is a series of funny, illustrated chapter books by Max Hazelhurst, for children ages 7 to 10 (US grades 2 to 5).

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Nine named powers, one per chapter
Read aloud from 7, on their own from 8
Home and classroom

Murphy's Law for Kids: School Edition book cover

Murphy's Law for Kids: Two Books in One book cover

35-second trailer

When these stories help

A small mistake spirals into tears, tantrums, or a flat "I can't."
Your child won't try something new if they might get it wrong.
A wrong answer on homework turns into "I'm bad at this."

Some books tell a child to "be confident" or "never give up." This one shows them what to do next.

The books

Murphy's Law for Kids

Nine short stories, each with one simple power for when things go wrong, and a last chapter that puts all nine together. Over 90 illustrations, and a power shield to color in for each power. Short notes for the adult reading along, each with a "what would you do?" question. Most of the stories happen at home, with Noah, Ella, their friends and Biscuit the unhelpful dog.

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Murphy's Law for Kids: School Edition

Nine more stories, each told by a different kid in Noah and Ella's class about the day something went wrong at school. A wrong answer at the board. A lunch dropped in a quiet room. A group project plan that falls apart with the clock running. Same nine powers, learned where your child spends most of the day. It stands on its own, so your child doesn't need to have read the first book.

Every chapter opens on a picture of the kid who tells it, so kids will see themselves in it.

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Hardcover · Kindle · More about the School Edition

Murphy's Law for Kids: Two Books in One

Both books in one volume, in reading order. The paperback has 234 pages, 19 chapters and over 120 illustrations. Seeing each power twice is the point: once mostly at home, then all at school.

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Kindle

A gift for a 7, 8, 9 or 10 year old: for a birthday, a stocking stuffer, a gift from a teacher, or a book for your own child.

Nine powers, one per chapter

Every chapter pairs a funny story about Noah, Ella and their friends (plus Biscuit, the unhelpful dog) with one named power. Something they can do in the moment. By the last page, all nine clip together on the Bounce-Back Belt, martial-arts style, a stripe for every power.

1. What's Next?

For the first moment after something goes wrong.

2. The Magic Pause

For when big feelings take over.

3. Oops-and-Adjust

For the second right after a mistake. A mistake is a clue, not a verdict.

4. The Tiny Brave Step

For tasks that feel too scary to start.

5. Plan B Power

For when a plan falls apart. Bend, don't break.

6. The Power of Yet

Turn "I can't" into "I can't yet".

7. The Reset Button

For stopping one bad morning from turning into a bad day.

8. Fixing It

For friendship trouble and feeling left out.

9. What Did It Teach Me?

For turning a setback into something useful.

At bedtime or in class

Funny first, never preachy

Each story is funny first. The power comes at the end, without a lecture.

A shield to color in for every power

Your child earns each power and colors in its shield, building toward the full Bounce-Back Belt.

One chapter fits a bedtime

Or a lesson, or a morning circle. Read it aloud together, or hand it to a confident reader of 8 and up.

Meet the crew

Noah (8, goofy, all-in) and Ella (9, quieter, thoughtful) carry the stories, with Biscuit the dog contributing nothing useful on every page. Around them: Diya, Mateo, Mei, Tariq, Nia and Yasmin, each bringing their own oops moments. If your child can find themselves somewhere in this lineup, that's the point.

Noah, Ella, Biscuit the dog and their friends: the Murphy's Law for Kids crew

Where the ideas come from

Each chapter shows your child what to do next. Every chapter has its own story and its own power.

Where the ideas come from: 18 books for adults on growth mindset, resilience and children's feelings. If you've read Carol Dweck's Mindset, the home of growth mindset and "the power of yet," or Siegel and Bryson's The Whole-Brain Child, you'll recognize them. The reading list for each chapter of the first book is on one page, the same list printed in the free Parent & Teacher Guide. You don't need any of the books to use the stories.

See where the ideas come from

For teachers

Teaching a class? The free Bounce-Back School Kit has a 15-minute lesson plan, a 30-day challenge calendar and a classroom wall poster, all ready for a black and white copier, for the SEL time you already run. It's 24 pages, made to go with the School Edition.

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The free companion kit

Every copy of the book links to two free downloads, and you can get them before you have the book, too. The Parent & Teacher Guide is 23 pages: all nine powers on one page, a bedtime read-aloud playbook and a low-prep classroom version. The Bounce-Back Power Pack is 14 pages of shields to color in, right through to the Full Belt certificate for the fridge.

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The nine colorful bounce-back power shields kids color in

Raising a child ages 6 to 9? Six Powers for Street Smart Kids, by the same author, is street smarts practice you run together, a few minutes at a time. Its free printables are here.