Smart in My Heart

by Kristin Greco, Joshua Leigh (Illustrator)

Overview

At some point in our lives, all of us have hard-to-feel feelings. We get mad, sad, or scared, and we have no idea what to do about it!

When one little girl's world goes topsy turvy, her feelings are way too big and confusing. She has no idea what to do! And the adults in her home seem too busy to help, or feel too far away to talk to. With the help of an animal friend, she discovers the smart in her heart, and learns how to understand and cope with her emotions.

Smart In My Heart sheds light on children who don't have the language to express how they feel. It is a tool for educators, therapists, and even parents to help children who are feeling lonely or emotionally unwell. The text, pictures, and psycho-educational questions teach children self-soothing strategies and how to access their inner strengths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781039142183
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	04/27/2022
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Kristin Greco is a Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and Clinical Director of a private mental health clinic in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, where she resides with her husband and three children. In her clinical practice, Kristin supports individuals who have experienced complex trauma.

Since childhood, Kristin has nurtured a deep passion for writing. As a compliment to her clinical practice, she writes a blog that can be found on her clinic website (www.newmarketpsychotherapy.com). It is Kristin's hope this book and her blog act as a resource and support; normalizing shared human experiences as we navigate our individual journeys through life.

Editorial Reviews

2022-10-05
A bird advises a child on emotional intelligence in Greco’s debut picture book.

“Where should I go and what can I do… / When the world’s topsy turvy, and inside out too?” a redheaded child wonders as they dangle from a swingset, their feet toward the sky. Rhyming verse describes responses that will be familiar to both adults and children enduring stress, loss, and fear: “my heartbeats feel mad / my tummy is tingling; it’s hungry and sad.” A cardinal, flying upside down, offers unexpected wisdom: “Be mad and be sad; touch your heart with your hand. / That feeling inside? Others understand.” Other children, the bird says, are playing indoors, suffering boredom and the stress of parents who are distant, distracted, or “weeping.” The avian’s intelligence and authority are unexplained, and Greco’s text leans toward the Seussian (“one-million-times-two”). However, cogent truths abound: Children feel “all alone in the spaces [they] know,” stressed adults “stomp and shout”; and comfort can be found in punching pillows, wrapping oneself in blankets, or seeking help from others. Aftermatter offers more useful ideas about “big feelings,” the “locus of control,” and “self-soothing strategies.” Leigh’s art is basic, with flat colors and mittenlike hands, but effectively scaffolds the deep conversations the text encourages.

A worthwhile reflection on the long emotional aftermath of recent troubled times.

Kirkus Reviews