Books can be great openers to discuss the issues that surround children and the feelings that surface because of their difficulties. Horace arrives home in a horrible state and his mother responds by suggesting they make mean soup. The flamboyant colors and loose style of the art are perfect models for losing a little control before gaining it back. Mean Soup is a great inspiration for young children to describe a day gone wrong and then dictate or write their own recipes for recovery. Young chefs will develop skills of identifying and expressing personal frustrations and disappointments and understand there are constructive and valid places to communicate feelings and their resolutions.
Teachers can provide physical release by including a pounding stump in their classroom.
Students can develop fine motor skills at the same time as they get rid of tension by hitting those nails right on their heads. Heroes Writer Ken Mochizuki and illustrator Dom Lee have produced two books that show children dealing with conflicts. Furious at his situation and the prejudice surrounding him, the boy channels his anger into baseball and finds resolution and power. Both books are great openers to speak of prejudice, history, anger, and authentic actions. Compare and contrast through discussing variables like historic periods, ethnicity, race, gender, and responses of the characters.