When Mike, the boy in the story, gets a present from his father, he is very happy, but soon his feelings change drastically when he finds out that other children do not want to play the game with him. Reacting spontaneously, showing emotions 'without thinking', is a frequent behavioural pattern with many children. What children can learn from the boy s behaviour in the story, is the ability to engage in a metacognitive thinking-process. Mike activates this process by visualising the key situations he has gone through, thus finding out what was inappropriate behaviour. His decision to take action and talk to his father about his behaviour is an excellent example of problem solving and conflict resolution.
Children usually show a high level of interest in such stories.
As we have said, this enables them to remember better the chunks of language that the story contains and has significant influence on their development.