Crying is Like the Rain: A Story of Mindfulness and Feelings

by Heather Hawk Feinberg, Chamisa Kellogg (Illustrator)

Overview

A gentle metaphor for understanding and processing anxiety and sadness.

Is it possible we’ve misunderstood crying all along? That’s the discovery one big sister sets out to share with her little brother as they walk to school and get caught in a storm. Along the way they explore sadness, loneliness, fear, frustration, anger and more, through gentle metaphor. Their journey examines our tears revealing how they begin, why they happen, and what to do with them. Throughout the book, the message received is that we are safe in our emotional experiences and that feelings, like the weather, come and go. This is an empowering story about navigating and understanding our feelings as a healthy, important, and very natural part of our lives. Have you ever noticed you feel differently after you cry? That’s because Crying is like the Rain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884487234
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	472,984
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Heather Hawk Feinberg is a counselor, writer, mother, and the founder of Mindful Kids (www.mindfulkidscommunity.org), a nonprofit organization that creates pioneering resources for social and emotional learning. She works with individuals, families, and organizations across the globe. Heather’s calling is guiding children (and the child inside each of us) to discover our voices, access our power, and connect to our knowing. This is her debut book.

Chamisa Kellogg (Portland, OR) is a RISD-trained artist whose work is inspired by nature, myths and fairy tales, and the nebulous line between reality and imagination. She has drawn and designed for magazines, books, apps,
social innovators, and educational materials.

Editorial Reviews

06/22/2020

Centering on a child getting walked to school by an older sibling, Feinberg uses the changing weather as an extended metaphor for fluctuating emotions. Textural illustrations by Kellogg provide a sprightly backdrop to the characters’ journey. Two consecutive spreads—one depicting clear skies as the duo traverse a rural road, the next depicting the gathering storm as a man tending his sunflowers waves to the siblings—stand out, the perspective shift reflecting characters’ reactions to the weather. While some passages feel heavy-handed (“When you are worried or upset,/ scared or lonely, or something deep/ within feels off balance, there is/ a storm building inside you”), the book stands as a reliable entrée for adults to support young readers’ emotional processing. Back matter includes mindfulness activities and advice for caretakers on how to discuss feelings with children. Ages 6–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Centering on a child getting walked to school by an older sibling, Feinberg uses the changing weather as an extended metaphor for fluctuating emotions. Textural illustrations by Kellogg provide a sprightly backdrop to the characters’ journey. Two consecutive spreads—one depicting clear skies as the duo traverse a rural road, the next depicting the gathering storm as a man tending his sunflowers waves to the siblings—stand out, the perspective shift reflecting characters’ reactions to the weather. While some passages feel heavy-handed (“When you are worried or upset,/ scared or lonely, or something deep/ within feels off balance, there is/ a storm building inside you”), the book stands as a reliable entrée for adults to support young readers’ emotional processing. Back matter includes mindfulness activities and advice for caretakers on how to discuss feelings with children. Ages 6–8."

PW

"

Crying is like the Rain marks the debut book of Heather Hawk Feinberg, founder of Mindful Kids, and reads as a love letter to her twenty-five years of experience educating and counseling families of all-ages. The story is due to be released at a time when many children have been out-of-school and so, those who anxiously await their return, may identify with Kellogg’s charming illustrations that tell the tale of a little boy who is tearfully bound for his first day of school. Described as a story of mindfulness and feelings, Crying is like the Rain seeks to support children in their lifelong journeys of identifying, understanding and coping with their ever-changing emotions by drawing comparisons to the weather in an intelligent yet accessible way. 

There are many messages that can be taken from the story: we are not our feelings; our emotions come and go but should never be ignored; it is important to express ourselves; and even the worst storms come to an end. These lessons in emotional awakening can be reinforced by the excellent suggested activities at the end of the book, helping adults connect to their children through play and dialogue.  As a teacher of younger ones, I will most certainly be using Crying is like the Rain in my classroom.

"

Ellie Egleton - Armadillo Magazine

07/01/2020

PreS-Gr 1—Through a social and emotional learning lens, Feinberg attempts to explain feelings to readers by likening them to the weather, and noting that they are passing. Some emotions—hurt, loneliness, fear, worry—can feel like volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes inside. Even if "crying is like the rain," there are different versions of that, too: a thunderous downpour, light sprinkles with the sun still shining, or simply misty. Feinberg takes apart the reactions of others to emotional displays; people can be angry, worried, or try to make the one who is crying laugh, but their response may come from a place of their own discomfort. Kellogg's illustrations of acrylic and watercolor capture the emotions of the young character shown in the pages, and add to the reassuring purpose of the book. Back matter suggests having children write "Weather Reports" for their daily emotions, as well as activities to go deeper and ideas for the best way to talk with children. VERDICT Very clear in its didacticism, this empowering book is an intended tool for caregivers and teachers wanting to explore social emotional learning with the very young.—Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Lib., OR

School Library Journal

2020-03-25
Emotions can be tumultuous but passing, just like the weather.

Feinberg, founder of Mindful Kids, a nonprofit that promotes social and emotional learning, likens various emotions to different types of stormy weather. While this is certainly not a new concept, Feinberg delves into the topic by addressing the reader directly with questions and using direct address to pull them in. The beginnings of storms can feel uncertain. Some storms are loud and thunderous; some storms are relatively gentle. Sometimes “the storm feels like it will never end, but it always does.” And of course, “crying is like the rain.” It helps release pent-up emotions, oftentimes giving a sense of calm at its end. Kellogg’s textured brush strokes capture the sweeping clouds, sheets of rain, and various internal storms (or other natural disasters) that children face, such as swirling tornadoes of confusion or fiery volcanoes of anger. The two main characters, presumably siblings, present white, but both adults and children of color also appear throughout. Various mindfulness exercises related to weather (“Be a weather reporter and share your weather with someone you care about”) appear in two pages of backmatter.

Not brilliant storytelling—but useful and purposeful. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews

Read More