But … I Wanted a Frog!
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Suddenly, I heard the sweet voice of my friend, Adelio. “What’s up, Ally?” He had his shiny toolbox that he always carried. I shouted, “I got a baby sister, but…I wanted a frog!” Adelio said, “It is hard to want something and then get something else instead.” Adelio understood! He was good at listening. He asked “Would you like to see if there is something in my toolbox that might make you feel better?” I cried “Yes, I feel so angry!” Adelio reached into his shiny toolbox. He smiled. “Aha! I have just the thing!” He pulled out a magic bubble. He spread his arms out. It got bigger. He pushed his hands in. It got smaller. He said, “This is my favorite for making the mad feelings melt away! I breathe in when it gets big. I breathe all the air out when it gets small. I breathe until my muscles relax. It is a breath bubble.” I watched the breath bubble and followed Adelio. Breathe in when it gets big. Breathe out when it gets small. I felt my muscles relax. The mad was melting away.
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About the Book
Have you ever really, really wanted something but didn’t get it? Of course. It happens to us all. And it’s all right to be disappointed. But what if your feelings are much stronger than that?
That’s what Ally faces in But … I Wanted a Frog! When she doesn’t get what she wants and expects, Ally has lots of strong emotions. Not all of them are helpful. But she is able to use some tools from Adelio’s toolbox to return to a calmer, more regulated place. Grandma learns how to use the power of connection and listening to help her through it. In the end, Ally is more open to embracing the big change that comes with being a big sister.
But … I Wanted a Frog is an engaging interactive social story that introduces tools and strategies parents and children can use to navigate social communication. They will build an emotional vocabulary and learn to recognize the body’s responses to emotional states. And, feelings that can be named, can be tamed.
About the Author
Christine Kirby, MS/SLP has been a speech language pathologist for thirty years, with a passion for social communication and the power of interpersonal connection. She has immersed herself in the study of interpersonal neurobiology, which led to a desire to write children’s books that create a platform for coregulation and social language development.
Caroline Kittelson, MA/CCC-SLP has been a Speech Language Pathologist for 12 years. She is a bilingual Speech Language Pathologist with a passion for cultural diversity and neurodiversity. She has pursued interventions that reach beyond the behavioral symptom to the root of social communication because she views behavior as communication.