What do you do when fear stops you from having fun? From the creator of Ruby Finds a Worry, a story about feeling shy and finding ways to have fun anyway.
Sammy LOVES having fun. Especially at home. But in big groups-like at school, birthday parties, even the ice cream truck-he doesn't love feeling like other people are looking at him, and it's really hard talking to other people. Everyone tells Sammy not to be so shy. But one day, it gets so hard and scary that he starts to turn pink, and then pinker…until he's bright pink ALL OVER! Then he doesn't want to see anyone or do anything. But hiding out-alone-isn't very fun. Can Sammy learn how to tackle his fears-and go back to his usual color?
This warm, affectionate, and relatable book is the perfect starting place for talking to children about shyness and feeling self-conscious.
The Big Bright Feelings picture book series provides kid-friendly entry points into emotional intelligence topics-from being true to yourself to dealing with worries, managing anger, and making friends. These topics can be difficult to talk about. But these books act as sensitive and reassuring springboards for conversations about mental and emotional health, positive self-image, building self-confidence, and managing feelings.---from the publisher
32 pages 978-1547618392 Ages 3-6
Keywords: shyness, dealing with feelings, dealing with emotions, feeling self-conscious, understanding your feelings, Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, part of a series, fathers/sons, 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old
Also in this series:
Ruby Finds a Worry | Perfectly Norman | Ravi's Roar | Meesha Makes Friends | Tilda Tries Again | Milo's Monster | Finn's Little Fibs | Bea's Bad Day
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At home with his dad, Sammy loves having fun but when he goes to school he freezes - there are so many people, and if the spotlight is on him, he can't even talk. It seems that no matter what he does or where he goes, something happens to make people look at him, and even though they are sympathetic and tell him not to be shy, he begins to believe that being shy is who and what he is. Not only that, he starts to turn a vivid shade of pink until he is pink all over!!!
It got to the stage where he was so self-conscious that he didn't want to go anywhere or do anything ... until his dad had an idea.
Shyness is a feeling that smothers many of our little ones, particularly if they are used to being one of just two or three and therefore in control of much of what's happening around them because they are at its centre,, but when they have to compete with those who are more outgoing, exuberant and boisterous, they can feel overshadowed and overwhelmed so it is much easier to retreat into their own world. While it's OK to feel reticent at times - and it's amazing how many times that the exuberance of some is a mask for underlying feelings of uncertainty and awkwardness - it can become an issue if, like Sammy, that reticence begins to impact the things we do, the places we go and the people we mix with. So while Dad's idea may be daunting at first, it turns out to be the best thing for Sammy.
This is another in this series for young readers to learn to cope with big feelings that includes Bea's Bad Day, Ruby’s Worry, Perfectly Norman, Ravi’s Roar, Meesha Makes Friends, Tilda Tries Again, Milo’s Monster and Finn’s Little Fibs, each of which deals with everyday situations that our children face and are better off learning to navigate than being shielded from them.
Apart from acknowledging, confronting and beginning to overcome the emotions that might be holding them back, children learn that they are not alone in their experiences, that everyone has something that makes them uncomfortable in certain situations and that the "negative" emotions we have do not need to define or limit us. Often "fake it till you make it" isn't a bad approach. And even if we never quite "make it" who we are as we are is enough.
This review can also be found here.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
