A World Without Failures: Growth Mindset

I think we can all agree that nobody is perfect and mistakes are bound to happen – it’s just a part of life. Can you even imagine what the world would be like if mistakes never happened? Esther Pia Cordova has done just that in her latest book, A World Without Failures: Growth Mindset. This book has a great message for kids about why failure is not always a bad thing!

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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All About A World Without Failures

David feels like nothing is going right in his world. He can’t swim like his friends, he missed the game-winning goal during his soccer game, and he made two mistakes on his spelling test. So he makes a wish to never make a mistake again – to live in a world without failure. Then David falls asleep.

While dreaming, David discovers a strange new world that he hardly recognizes – a world where he can talk to his cat, Einstein.

It’s also a world without TVs, refrigerators, supermarkets, houses, and more, because none of those things could have been made without a little failure along the way.

David doesn’t like this new world. When he wakes up, David realizes that not trying is much worse than failing!

This book highlights how failures are actually a good thing and how important mistakes are for successful learning. The author has included some teaching points and discussion starters at the end of the book.

I believe that many children will relate to the way David feels in this story. My own children get frustrated when things don’t come easily to them. As a parent, it can be hard to watch your child fail. But each time a child fails, they have an opportunity to problem solve and try again. This process is so important if we want our children to persevere and shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

Activities for A World Without Failures

These questions can help guide your students through this book.

Having a growth mindset is the focus of this story, so here are some activities you can use to extend that message with your students. The first is an activity where students sort statements into two categories: growth mindset and fixed mindset.

The second activity encourages students to use growth mindset language. In each scenario, students offer advice on how to help a friend change their words from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.