Gail Silver

After a grandfather dies, a father and son journey forward through seasons and time, discovering how our loved ones remain with us even after they pass on. From beloved author Gail Silver of the Anh's Anger series comes a touching story of a father comforting his son after a grandfather dies. The lovely rhyme and poetry offers a heartfelt way to discuss loss and grief with a child. We see, along with the little boy of the story, how our loved ones are with us forever, in everything we do. Beautiful textured pastels carry the reader through the seasons as the father describes the cycle of life, and all of the beauty and sadness that comes with it.

It’s not the thunder that’s so scary, just the way that it arrives. It comes without a warning, and takes us by surprise. In lively rhyming text, a courageous boy guides his stuffed animal companions and his parents through a thunderstorm using sensory-based mindfulness to navigate his fear and find quiet within the storm. Through this soothing story, kids will understand that thunderstorms can also bring good things, such as calming rain and water for plants. The atmospheric illustrations capture the darkness of a storm and the light that comes through as fear subsides. Includes a Reader’s Note with more information about helping kids navigate their own fears around thunderstorms. "A beautiful book to help young children with thunderstorm fears. It could also be used as a model to help with other fears. Gail Silver provides a concrete model of self-talk and soothing action, showing children how to calm themselves. Although the parents are recognized as a support, it is the child that takes control of his fears. The illustrations by Lisa Fields are exquisite and beautiful. As a pediatrician who is quite familiar with young children’s fears, I recommend this excellent book for every young family’s library." —M. Bidi McSorley, MD

Bea is anxiously waiting for her friends to show up for her birthday party. When the worries start to grow around her like tree branches, she uses breathing exercises and visualization techniques to calm herself down. Bea asks herself questions like, “What if my friends don’t like the games?” Her stomach flip-flops and she feels shaky. She tries to run away from the thoughts in the worry tree, but it doesn’t work! Bea uses deep-breathing exercises and visualization techniques to calm herself down. ?Includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers by Ara Schmitt, PhD about the ways in which kids can respond to their anxious thoughts.

"Lily was at a picnic with her father and her little sister, Ruby, but it wasn't much fun." So opens the final story in Gail Silver's celebrated Anh's Anger trilogy. Ruby was spoiling Lily's time, making it impossible for her to play her game, and she was mad. But when Lily pushed her sister out of the way, her father comforted Ruby. Lily was confused. Luckily, her father had brought something else on their picnic, a journal his own grandfather had written when he was a boy, in which he wrote about the first time he met his Anger. As Lily and her father turned the sepia pages of the old notebook, they read about Metta, the ancient meditation practice during which you wish happiness, health, safety, and loving kindness for yourself and those people toward whom you are having difficult feelings. With original watercolors by award-winning illustrator Youme Nguyen Ly, "Peas, Love, and Understanding" helps children acknowledge anger, understand the cause of their anger, and ultimately feel safe expressing themselves and accepting accountability for their actions when appropriate. By learning these skills, children can grow comfortable with them and carry them into adulthood with ease and confidence.

This wonderful and engaging 1st book in a trilogy that includes Steps and Stones and Peace, and Bugs and Understanding, gives children and caregivers a concrete practice for dealing with anger and other difficult emotions. In Anh's Anger, five-year-old Anh becomes enraged when his grandfather asks him to stop playing and come to the dinner table. The grandfather helps Anh fully experience all stages of anger by suggesting that he go to his room and, "sit with his anger." The story unfolds when Anh discovers what it means to sit with his anger. He comes to know his anger in the first person as his anger comes to life in full color and personality. Anh and his anger work through feelings together with humor and honesty to find a way to constructively release their thoughts and emotions and to reach resolve with Anh's grandfather. The story is beautifully illustrated with handmade collages by New York artist and childrens book illustrator Christiane Kromer. Each collage is a mix of paper, acrylic, and cardboard, and found materials. The materials reflect the connection between the characters and their environment and are indicative of the wide range of emotions that come together in the story. Anh's Anger teaches children that it is okay to feel angry, and shows the technique, often used by child therapists, of externalizing the emotion. Through taking time to "sit' with his anger, a young child is able to see his anger and talk to it and together they move through the journey of experiencing the different stages of anger until the feeling subsides and finally resolve. Anh's Anger differs significantly from other books on anger resolution techniques in showing that the child is able to talk about what transpired and accept responsibility for hurtful things that he may have said or done. The author's intention is to help parents understand that there is an alternative to "time out's" as a means of helping children to express themselves when feeling angry, while providing children with a mechanism for internal dialogue during a "time out" or when "sitting" with their anger. Through reading the story, children will learn to acknowledge anger when it arises, understand the cause of their anger, and ultimately feel safe expressing themselves and accepting accountability for their actions when appropriate. By learning these skills, children, will grow comfortable with them and carry them into adulthood with ease and confidence.