When working to support your child's social and emotional development, one of the most powerful things you can do is to help them understand the connection between cause and effect. Books are an excellent way to support this skill because we can look at the actions and emotions of characters to understand these connections, in a way that is safe, flexible, and objective for young people.

This Character Development Map, developed by Laura Candler, will help guide your child's thinking. Consider creating a map for each character in a story - how are different character's behaviors connected? How did their actions impact each other? As your child develops their critical thinking, you may see opportunities to apply this type of thinking in their real life.

The library isn't an option, or have you worked through all your books at home? The following list of video links are book readalongs that may come in useful when practicing these skills while out of school. 

• Little Monkey Calms Down by Michael Dahl
• Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival     
• The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions by Anna Llenas          
• I am Enough by Grace Byers
• The Feelings Book by Todd Parr  
• In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek     
• The Way I Feel by Janan Cain                 

Due to global health concerns surrounding COVID-19, Audible.com has made their library of children's and young adult's audiobooks free of charge. This excellent resource wil certainly help young people pass the time and stay engaged!