Kids were intrigued by “Q’s Wild Ride” Storybook because Q’s challenges were so applicable to their age level. Q is a dusky leaf monkey who has the book smarts–good reader, solves tough math equations and builds inventions– but there’s a gap in his emotional intelligence as he struggles with being in tune with his and others’ emotions and using that information to focus, get along, empathize, solve problems and help others. Within the Wunder family, Q means well but still struggles with:
- not sharing
- pouting when he doesn’t get his way
- thinking of himself before others
- annoying when he thinks he’s fun
- acting before thinking of others
When the family is stuck in traffic and running late for big brother Redmond’s baseball game, Q has a clever solution to the problem but realizes later he didn’t tune in to siblings’ emotions to be helpful to the whole family. “Q’s Wild Ride” sparks so many important conversations about emotions, empathy, and compassion. Many of Q’s actions and reactions are mini-lessons on social skills, how does the other person feel? What could Q do to help? make them feel better etc. Emotional Intelligence and Language skills go hand in hand as kids learn the vocabulary of emotions, recognize them in themselves and others, and become better at understanding and describing how to manage those emotions and harness them to navigate life in a socially appropriate manner. A first grade teacher loved the book and CD combination as kids enjoyed the CD in a listening center and their teacher used Q’s challenges as writing prompts, asking kids to write about what Q could have done differently. “It taught kids to think about how their behavior affects other people.” This book is full of fun lessons and conversation starters for the whole family!
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