Read To Succeed Asheville/Buncombe
  • Home
  • Volunteer
    • Reading Tutor
    • Organizational Volunteer
    • Apply to Volunteer
    • Background Checks
    • Word Work
  • Family Reading Resources
    • Family Reading Resources
    • Free Reading Apps for Kids
    • Letter Sounds
    • Online Reading Resources
    • Read-Aloud
    • Read-Aloud-PreK
    • Summer Literacy Resources
  • Donate
    • Grow Readers Together - R2S Spring Fundraising Campaign
    • Contribute
    • Page Turners Circle
    • Additional Ways to Give to R2S
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • History
    • Early Childhood Literacy
    • The R2S Method
    • Leadership Team
    • Organizational Documents
    • Join the R2S Team
  • News
  • R2S Blog
  • Contact Us

Mental Health Awareness Month | Children's Book Recommendations & Literacy Activities

5/16/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture

Comprehension Questions to Ask Throughout a Story

Reading with your child is one of the best ways to explore social emotional learning. Keep these general comprehension questions in mind when reading with your child, and check out our featured list of social emotional children's books featuring Black main characters below.
  • Look at how the characters' facial expressions change throughout the story . . . how do you think she feels?
    • What makes you think that?
    • What part of the story told you that?
    • Where can we find that in the story?
  • Ask questions about "feeling words" as they appear in the story. Ask your child to make a matching face; for example, "Show me your ______ face”.
  • Ask your child to think of a time they were happy, sad, worried, etc. Did something similar happen in the story? Or something different that caused them to feel the same way?

5 Social Emotional Children's Books With Black Main Characters

Picture
1. Jabari Jumps, written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall
He's good at jumping, so he's not scared at all. But when his father takes his hand, Jabari pushes back. Either way, he'll need to figure out what specialty jumps to do and he'll need to stretch before climbing the diving board. Cornwall captures the moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined boy who can't help but cheer in a sweet and charming tale of overcoming fear.

What a live read-aloud of 'Jabari Jumps' read by Sheryl Lee Ralph
Picture
2. Allie All Along, written by Sarah Lynne Reul
Have you ever felt mad enough to stomp around and turn red? Allie has! With the understanding of her big brother, Allie uses different tools to shed her strong, angry emotion and calm down bit by bit.

Watch a live read-aloud of Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul
Picture
3. B Is For Breathe: The ABCs of Coping with Fussy and Frustrating Feelings, written by Melissa Boyd
An inclusive, unique, and fun ABC book, B is for Breathe highlights many tools children can use to process big emotions while recognizing letters. Eye-catching illustrations and easy strategies to cope with fussy and frustrating feelings, B is for Breathe is a great go-to book for kids to take a moment to soothe themselves.

Watch a live read-aloud of B Is for Breathe here.
Picture
4. My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood, written by Tameka Fryer Brown
Jamie uses color and rhythmic text to capture the mood of the day as he transitions from a "loose green vibe" when he's drawing to his sister to a "gloomy black vibe" when he's teased. What does it take to get Jamie back in the mood? Jamie teaches young readers to explain their emotions in a unique way.

Watch a live read-aloud of My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood
Picture
5. Ruby Finds a Worry, written by Tom Percival
Ruby is a cheerful, curious and imaginative girl. But one day she discovers something unexpected. She is worried It's not a big concern at first. But everyday it got bigger and bigger, and eventually her worries grew and she could only think about it. But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she learns that everyone has trouble, and that there are great ways to get rid of it. . . She just needs to share her feelings.

Watch a live read-aloud of Ruby Finds a Worry

3 Mental Health Awareness Activities for Kids

Incorporate multi-sensory activities into your exploration of social emotional learning with these fun ideas:

1. Retelling Feelings Dance - Makeup dance moves to show moods during a read-aloud. For example, in "Allie All Along," Allie is raging RED once she breaks her crayon. An angry dance is stomping around and clenched fists!

2. Picture Reading Faces - Skim through magazines or picture books and have young readers point out different illustrations of faces with strong emotions. Talk about these emotions together, what do they feel and look like in real life.

3. Building Feelings Vocabulary Survey - Download a free printable feelings vocabulary survey to use with your child.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About R2S

    Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe (R2S) is a local, independent nonprofit on a mission to help close the
    race-based opportunity gap through community-powered literacy programming that engages children, families, and community partners.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Children's Books
    Comprehension
    Early Childhood
    Family Resources
    Phonemic Awareness
    Phonics
    R2S Events
    Vocabulary
    Volunteer
    Volunteers
    Wnc

Our Mission

Read to Succeed is on a mission to help close the race-based opportunity gap through community-powered literacy programming that engages children, families, and community partners.
Get in Touch!

Phone: (828) 747-2277
Email: info@r2sasheville.org
Physical address: 16A Stewart St.
Asheville, NC 28806
(*Note: Our office is located in the Pisgah View Apartments community)
Mailing address:
PO Box 18652
Asheville, NC 28814
tceuzyxzwxwtrrcfrcbttewxrserdrwrtrzqfu
Contact  |  Donate  |  Current Volunteer Login
© 2021 Read To Succeed Asheville/Buncombe
  • Home
  • Volunteer
    • Reading Tutor
    • Organizational Volunteer
    • Apply to Volunteer
    • Background Checks
    • Word Work
  • Family Reading Resources
    • Family Reading Resources
    • Free Reading Apps for Kids
    • Letter Sounds
    • Online Reading Resources
    • Read-Aloud
    • Read-Aloud-PreK
    • Summer Literacy Resources
  • Donate
    • Grow Readers Together - R2S Spring Fundraising Campaign
    • Contribute
    • Page Turners Circle
    • Additional Ways to Give to R2S
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • History
    • Early Childhood Literacy
    • The R2S Method
    • Leadership Team
    • Organizational Documents
    • Join the R2S Team
  • News
  • R2S Blog
  • Contact Us