Inside: SWEEP, by Louise Greig and Julia Sarda, is a powerful new book about understanding feelings – especially the all-consuming bad mood. Check it out below!
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Snap Out of Bad Moods With SWEEP, a New Beauty by Louise Greig and illustrated by Julia Sarda
Many of you know me well enough now to know that my favorite kinds of books are the ones that help me help my kids tackle big issues. And not just tackle them, but really begin to understand them, too.
One of those big issues? Understanding emotions. This, in my opinion, is vitally important.
Some feelings flit in and out of our lives in mere seconds, while other stick around for what seem like endless amounts of time. They linger, hover, and at times, even feel oppressive.
How to explain these big emotions to a young child? Use books (obviously!)
I love books that play with language. I especially love books that use vivid language to help children draw powerful comparisons — to make the intangible and inexplicable feel a little more concrete.
We have a new favorite in our home that does just that: SWEEP, by Louise Greig and illustrated by Julia Sarda.
SWEEP is a gorgeous new book, perfect for the fall season, that helps children understand their feelings — especially the all-encompassing anger and discomfort that come with being in a bad mood. At once a book showcasing the magic of fall leaves and the power of our big emotions, this story deftly weaves these two concepts together.
In SWEEP, Ed’s in a mood. A bad mood. It starts off small, barely perceptible. But then his bad mood builds and builds, until it takes over not just Ed, but his entire town too.
In SWEEP, fall leaves present the powerful extended metaphor for Ed’s bad mood. As Ed tries to sweep his bad mood away, it keeps growing and growing until the pile of leaves is totally out of control and much bigger than he is. When a sudden wind whips up all of the leaves, will it be enough to sweep away Ed’s bad mood too?
In comparing Ed’s mood to a pile of leaves that keeps on growing, children are able to understand, in a manner that feels authentic to their young minds, how our moods can become bigger than ourselves if we don’t seek to control them. It’s easy to get carried away in our feelings if we don’t take a moment to look up and reflect. It’s easy to be consumed by sadness or anger or fear. It’s easy to let our own emotions negatively affect those around us.
But here’s the thing. Each and every one of us has the ability to control our moods, and we need to help remind our children that sometimes they need to look up, take a deep breath, and make a conscious and deliberate effort to change something around them. This is the only way to create a new, optimistic path, and it’s a skill that our children need to learn and practice. SWEEP can help you do that.
SWEEP offers a spring point for discussion and a reminder to look up. SWEEP is a beauty to ponder, reflect upon, and come back to again and again. Two trunks up for this new gem!
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