PPBF: When You Are Brave

Today I'm excited because good things are happening. On Wednesday, I enjoyed meeting the school family and speaking at the School of Science and Technology, then yesterday, an anonymous patron at The Red Oak Cafe paid for our lunch.

Last night I got to speak at a Family Character Night

at Ferguson Elementary.

With every blessing, there's a burden.

One of the pipes in our attic sprung a leak

and flooded the carpeting in two of our rooms.

What a mess; my feelings are all over the place.

But I am super excited about today's PPBF. 

Title: When You Are Brave

Author: Pat Zietlow Miller

Illustrator: Eliza Wheeler

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Birth Date: March 5, 2019

Suitable for ages: preK - 3rd

Themes: courage, feelings, mindfulness

Brief synopsis: Readers will connect with and relate to this young heroine who learns to be brave, brave as a bird, as a dog, as a butterfly, and find that light inside, even as she does the things that seem the scariest.

Opening page: 

Some days, when everything around you seems scary ...  

Resources:

Check out the author's page {here}.

Read a review at Publisher's Weekly {here}.

Take a peek at the Illustrator's story {here}. 

Why I like this book: True confessions, I bought this book before I finished reading it. Two pages hooked me. Ok, fine, I'll give you the page numbers: Nine. Ten. and Eleven. But you're going to have to buy the book to find out why I got to page eleven and was sold. It's the kind of book that makes me wish I still had students to read it to. But not to worry; I will take it with me on my next school visit. It's all about finding that light within, that still, small spark that will glow stronger and burn brighter with practice until it's full-blow bravery. Until you're not longer a ground-crawling caterpillar but a transformed free-flyer. 

Use this treasure as a springboard for talking about emotions. 

There is no shame in being scared.

In fact, it's a part of life.

Remind your learners that feelings choose us,

but we get to choose what we do with them.

Our job is to figure out how to 

respond to fear.

To take control,

to shine that light,

to show courage.

Invite your students to share about a time

when they didn't feel very brave.

Let them talk through how it felt

and what they did to self-soothe

and get through the fright

to the other side.

Encourage them to try some deep breathing exercises

while they use a mantra like: Inhale courage, exhale worries. 

For shapes breathing, click {here}.

For five-finger breathing, {here}.

For eight breathing cards, visit {here}.

For labyrinth breathing, {here} and {here}.

For the flower and leaf breathing, click {here}.

Compare and contrast it with Be Brave, Little One or another of your favorite titles that target self-awareness and emotional regulation. Here are a few of our feelings faves:

Check out this book, then head on over to Susanna Hill's blog

to see what the other bloggers are suggesting for your shelves.