2020 Holiday Gift Guide-The SEL Book Guide

The last several months have been so eye-opening on so many levels but the most incredible thing to me is how resilient and wonderful the children have been. We have asked them to make so many changes to their lives and while some of them have been good and exciting for some of the kids, it's also been really challenging and has brought up a lot of feelings and emotions. In my social skills group, I have found that discussing some of these difficulties can be a challenge so have turned to reading them children's books. It's amazing what kind of conversations can come from a thoughtfully written book. Below, I share just a handful of my favorite books (some recommended by colleagues and other parents). I tried to focus on books that address some of the really big social emotional topics that have come out of the last several months: kindness, diversity, acceptance, flexibility, resilience, feelings, emotions and coping skills. 

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt-a beautiful book that teaches kids that it is okay to be different. This little ghost doesn't understand why he's a quilt when his parents and all of his friends are sheets. Ghosts are supposed to be sheets so they can whirl and twirl and float and soar but he can't do any of that and when he flies, he gets hot. Being different makes the little ghost feel sad and left out and he just doesn't understand why he can't keep up with them all. But that all changes one Halloween when he has an experience that no other ghost could have and it only happened because he is a quilt and it helps him realize that being different is okay. A beautiful story to share with children who may feel or look different than their friends to help them understand that it's okay to be different and that sometimes it can actually make you even more special because of being different. 

Not A Box-this is one of my favorite books and great for teaching kids about being flexible and thinking outside of the box. Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis, encourages kids to use their imagination. A box is more than just a box if you take the time to think about it. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box can be anything you want it to be. What I love about this book is that it is easy to come up with accompanying activities to do after reading the book. Be sure to save some of your cardboard boxes and see what your kids can turn them into. 

The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be-written by Joanna Gaines and illustrated by Julianna Swaney, this beautiful book celebrates how creativity and acceptance can come together to make a wonderful adventure. The book follows a group of children as they each create their own hot-air balloons. As they begin to work together, they realize that they each have their own special talents and skills. In a time when so many people are struggling, I think it is more important than ever to teach our kids that we should always be willing to lend a helping hand to those in need, especially when our skills or talents will help them. If you want to add a nice little hands-on craft activity, print out a picture of a hot-air balloon and have your kids decorate their own. I can't wait until we are back to in-person sessions for my social skills group, TMH Juniors, and we can incorporate this book and some really fun art projects into our routine. 

The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings-we spend a lot of time teaching children about concepts such as colors, numbers and letters, but not enough time teaching them about feelings and emotions. This interactive pop-up book helps kids learn about emotions by matching them with a color and helps to open up the conversation about what feelings look like. One of my favorite things about this book is that they talk about how it's okay to feel more than one feeling at a time. Teaching kids to identify and handle big emotions is a really important skill and one that I think needs more attention now than ever before. After you read it, you can make your own Color Monster Feelings Chart. I did a quick google search and there are so many brilliant ideas out there from teachers, therapists and parents. 

The Feels Book-I stumbled on this book during my research and fell in love with this book (I think it is the adorable Yeti). Another great resource for parents to support their children during this crazy and uncertain times where big feelings and confusion is at an all-time high for so many kids. Join Yeti on a journey as she meets each of her feelings and learns how to take care of each one. Included with the book is a digital parent resource guide that provides a variety of questions and activities to help children develop positive emotional well-being and appropriate coping skills. You can also get this adorable Yeti Snuggler which comes with a mindfulness activity that works on regulating emotions and reducing anxiety. 

Ruby Finds A Worry-Ruby is a happy, curious and imaginative girl until one day, something unexpected happens: she finds a Worry. It begins out small but with each day, that worry grows and grows until she can't think about anything else. It takes meeting another kid who also has worries that Ruby learns everybody has worries and that there are ways to get rid of them. Ruby Finds A Worry is a great book for right now because so many children are experiencing a variety of worries and struggling with how to deal with them when that happens. Teaching kids strategies to decrease their anxiety at a young age is so important, especially during these times of so much uncertainty. 

I'm Not Just A Scribble-if you are not familiar with the author Diane Alber, I highly recommend that you take a look at her SEL books. We have been reading some of her Little Spot books during our remote social skills groups and the kids really love them. During our lesson about inclusion and kindness, we read I'm Not Just A Scribble and the conversations that the group had with each other after was so wonderful. Scribble, the main character of this book, never thought he was different until he met his first drawing. After being left out for being different than everyone else, Scribble decides to teach the drawings how to accept each other for who they are. This book comes with 100 stickers for your children to make their own scribbles and a feelings chart that you can hang up. Another fun activity to do is to have kids scribble all over a piece of paper and then see what they can turn the scribble into. 

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt-a beautiful book that teaches kids that it is okay to be different. This little ghost doesn't understand why he's a quilt when his parents and all of his friends are sheets. Ghosts are supposed to be sheets so they can whirl and twirl and float and soar but he can't do any of that and when he flies, he gets hot. Being different makes the little ghost feel sad and left out and he just doesn't understand why he can't keep up with them all. But that all changes one Halloween when he has an experience that no other ghost could have and it only happened because he is a quilt and it helps him realize that being different is okay. A beautiful story to share with children who may feel or look different than their friends to help them understand that it's okay to be different and that sometimes it can actually make you even more special because of being different. 

Wish-this beautiful book by Chris Saunders teaches children about kindness, sharing and the magic of friendship. The story is about Rabbit who has never had a wish before. One day he gets three wishes but can't decide what to wish for so he asks his friends Mouse, Fox and Bear what they would wish for. Rabbit decides to grant all three wishes for his friends and they are so grateful that they share their wishes with him. Not only is this a beautiful story about being kind to other people, the illustrations are gorgeous. 

The Day You Begin-there are many reasons for children to feel different and this book by Jaqueline Woodson does a wonderful job talking about this topic. Maybe it's the way you look or talk, where you come from or maybe it is because you may have a harder time talking or walking. It's not easy to take the risks to join a group when nobody really knows you yet, but you know you have to do it. This book is a helpful reminder to children how we may all feel when you have to join a new group and that if you open up and share  some of your own stories, there just might be others that you can connect with. This is a story about being brave, especially when you feel like you might be alone. It also feels very important to share this story this year given the number of changes so many kids are experiencing during the pandemic. So many children I know have left their familiar school environment and may be starting new schools or doing remote learning and experiencing a lot of anxiety about being the new and different kid. 

After The Fall by Dan Santat-Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high up on the city wall―that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can longer do many of the things he loves most.

Will he summon the courage to face his fear?After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) is a masterful picture book that will remind readers of all ages that Life begins when you get back up.

Kindness Is My Superpower-I think one of the most important things I ever taught my own daughter is the importance of being kind to others. We never know what other people are going through and making sure children know this from a very young age. In this delightful book, kids learn about how kindness, sensitivity and generosity can make the world a better place. This book is chockfull of examples of kindness at home, school or in your community and how if we are all more understanding of others and accept them for who they are, the world will be a more empathetic place. There are also Acts of Kindness Cards included with the book that promote empathy and kindness. 

ish-in one of my favorite Peter H. Reyolds books, we meet Ramon who loved to draw. Anytime, anything and anywhere! Drawing is what Ramon does and what makes him feel good about himself. It is what makes him happy until his older brother makes a mean comment and he no longer can find the joy in drawing. Ramon can't draw without feeling sad and worried about what he is doing. Luckily for him, his younger sister the world differently and opens Ramon's eyes and makes him realize that things don't always have to be "just right". This is a great book for children who are always seeking perfection and need to know that "just right" is different for everyone and just because someone doesn't like care.

Tessie Tames Her Tongue-Tessie loves to talk but her constant talking gets her into trouble at home and at school. The more she talks, the louder she becomes. She talks with her mouth full of food. The problem with this is that she doesn't give others a chance to talk and her brother and classmates begin to ignore her. With the of her school counselor, Tessie learns the importance of listening and how to tame her talkative tongue. We never want to dampen a child's spirit or make them not want to share their stories, but when it means that other children/people don't have an opportunity to say what's on their mind, it can turn into a problem. 

Fair is Fair-"It's not fair!" This is something that parents and teachers hear all of the time when they think someone else, a sibling or classmate, is getting more than they are. Do special needs for one mean less love for another? This is the question explored in this short children's story of three zoo animals. They learn that being equally loved doesn't necessarily mean that they're treated the exact same. Rather, true love is expressed when each animal gets what they need. This is a perfect book for all families with siblings who think may think that things are never fair. 

All Are Welcome-after the events that unfolded this spring, I know that many parents are trying to find ways to teach their children about diversity and kindness and sometimes the best way to do this is through books. In this book, you follow a group of children in their school. They are all culturally different, celebrate different holidays and have different family traditions but that is embraced in this school. Kids learn about each other and different cultures and realize that everyone is welcome in their school and welcomed with open arms no matter what. 

While I linked all of these books to Amazon, I can't stress the importance of supporting your local bookstores during this crazy time. I have shared some of my local bookshops and encourage you all to share your favorite local bookstores in the comments below. 

Community Bookstore-Park Slope, Brooklyn
Greenlight Bookstore-Fort Greene, Brooklyn 
powerHouse on 8th-Park Slope, Brooklyn (there is also a second location in DUMBO)
Books Are Magic-Cobble Hill, Park Slope 
Bank Street Bookstore-multiple locations on the UWS of Manhattan
Books of Wonder-Union Square and UWS locations
Shakespeare and Co-UES and UWS locations

The Holiday Book Guide

In addition to being an occupational therapist, I also run a social skills group called The Meeting House Juniors.  We are a recreational based social skills program for children ages 4-7 years old who have a variety of social struggles.  While our number one goal is to make them feel more socially comfortable and prepare them for the increasingly more demanding social demands they may face as they get older, we also want them to enjoy coming.  This means that we have had to find fun ways to talk to them and work on social skills.

As I was trying to develop our curriculum this year, I decided that one of the most effective and fun ways would be to use picture books to teach our social skills lessons each week.  We used to end each session at TMH Juniors last year by reading a picture book and it the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much they looked forward to that time of the afternoon.  It also made me realize that younger children have a hard time being able to identify and recognise their own social deficits but with the right platform, they are able to recognize it in other people and the characters in books.  Using picture books in our group has been a great way to talk about different kinds of social emotional challenges that kids might face and can be a great way to brainstorm, problem solve and include parents in our process so that kids can be better prepared for a variety of challenging social situations.

Below, I share just a handful of the very extensive number of books that make up my personal and professional library.  What they all have in common is that they are beautifully written, have amazing illustrations and teach a life lesson that will help our children become more socially aware.


After The Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Salent
We all know about Humpty Dumpty but do we know about what happened after he was finally put back together?  This is the story about Humpty Dumpty overcoming his fear of heights after taking that great big fall and building up the courage to climb the wall again.  So many of the kids I work with have giant fears and those fears may get in the way of them trying new things or doing things that they were once comfortable doing.  As they follow Humpty Dumpty through the story, they learn that sometimes it's not easy and we still may be a bit scared, but if we are brave and show courage, we end up overcoming our fears and doing great things.

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtentheld
In this children's book the main theme is about bullying and being a good friend.  Stick and Stone are both feeling alone and sad until Stick comes upon Stone being picked on by a pine cone.  They become fast friends and spend all of their time together until Stick is blown away during a storm.  Stone won't stop searching for his best friend and they are eventually reunited.

Fair Is Fair by Sonny Varela and Peter Mahr

What parent or teacher hasn't heard the words "It's not fair!".  Whether it be about not getting a special treat for dessert or going to bed earlier than their older sibling, kids are always worried about things not being fair and even.  In this book, three animals in the zoo (elephant, giraffe and a bunny) don't understand or think it's fair that one animal gets more than the other two.  Kids learn about fairness and just because someone may get something you want or more of something, it doesn't mean that you aren't equally loved.

The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
Teaching children about emotions and feelings is an important lesson that helps them not only understand their own feelings, but gives them perspective about other people and how they might be feeling.  The Color Monster is a beautifully illustrated popup book that helps children learn about emotions by matching it with a color.  Kids love this interactive book and it is a great way for parents and younger children to talk about feelings and what they can do when they are feeling certain ways.

Be A Friend by Salina Yoon
This is one of my favorite and most recommended books, especially for children who feel different.  Dennis is an ordinary little boy who likes to express himself through miming.  He doesn't use his words to try and connect with his peers and because of that, he feels alone.  That is until he meets a little girl named Joy who accepts him for who he is and a beautiful friendship develops because of her willingness to be open-minded.  As more children are being integrated into mainstream classrooms, this book is a must for parents and classrooms to help children develop an open mind for children who are different than them and to not be scared of them.

We Are All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
One of my all time favorite books was the young adult novel Wonder so I was thrilled when I discovered that they released a picture book for younger children.  This book is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the importance of empathy and kindness.  We Are All Wonders is old from the perspective of Auggie, a young boy who was born with a variety of facial differences that has required countless surgeries which has kept him out of school.  He talks about how even though he looks different than other children, he does ordinary things and is much more like his peers than they think and how he wants them to see him for who he is and not how he looks.

The Smallest Girl in the Grade by Justin Roberts
In this book, the theme is about speaking up and making yourself heard.  Sally is the littlest girl in her whole class and nobody seems to notice her.  The thing is is that she notices everything, especially the kids who are bullying and getting bullied.  One day, Sally decides she just can't take watching the mean kids any more and says something and makes herself heard by standing up to the bullies in her school.  We all know a kid (or many!) who need to be encouraged to use their voice and either stick up for themselves or for others.  This book is an important read, especially for kids who need to learn about the importance of speaking up and making themselves heard, even when they don't think anyone will listen to them.

Pete The Cat: I love My White Shoes by James Dean
One of the biggest lessons we can teach our children is how to differentiate between little and big problems.  For most kids, when a something happens to them, it is the biggest problem that they will ever face. Pete the Cat shows us how to make the best out of a problem by not getting upset and just moving on. Many of the Pete the Cat books teach a similar lesson and because of the sing-song way the book is written, the kids can really get into reading with you.  In addition to working on size of the problems, Pete the Cat books are great for teaching kids about the importance of being a flexible thinker, especially when things don't go the way  you want them to. 




The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

We all have children (either our own or ones that we work with) who are resistant to try new things, especially if they are fearful that they may not be as good as they would like to be at it.  In The Dot, children learn about the power of persistence and taking the a risk of trying something outside of their comfort zone.   Vashti is discouraged by an art project.  At the end of her class, all she has is a blank piece of paper; instead of being angry with her, her art teacher encourages her to just draw a dot and and sign her name on the paper.  When she arrives in the classroom next, she sees her picture hanging up for all to see.  That is all it took to encourage her to draw and paint more.  As her artistic abilities grow, so does her confidence and self-esteem.

Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins
One of the things that many parents, teachers and caregivers have to deal with is a child who is not always polite. In this book, kids can begin to learn about being polite and the importance of being kind to others with a tremendous amount of humor.  Rude cakes never say please or thank you, are known to take things that don't belong to them without asking.  He is known to be inconsiderate and ungrateful, bullies other sweets and disrespects his parents.  That is until he is taken to another land where Giant Cyclopses (who are silly but very polite) end up using rude cakes as a hat where he learns the importance of being kind and patient and is able to change his ways when he returns home.


Let's Get Along Books-this is a series I found that works on more specific social difficulties.  These short and engaging books focus on raising awareness for positive behaviors.  In this box set, kids will be introduced to a handful of students from Miss Clayton's classroom.  The illustrations are fun and the stories are easy for preschoolers (these are really targeted towards younger children/preschool age) to follow.  These are great books for any classroom setting as the issues that they focus on (being kind, sharing, working together and calming down) are things that come up all the time for children in all classrooms and schools!

So these are just a handful of the dozens and dozens of books that I recommend this holiday season.  I'm always adding to my book collection so if you have any books that you love or would recommend, please share them with me.  I know that my readers will also appreciate hearing any suggestions you might have.  If you have a child who has other social difficulties and would like some recommendations on books that might be good for your child, please don't hesitate reaching out to me....I am always a click away and LOVE being able to share my recommendations with everyone.

For the Wee Ones!

Baby and toddler toys are always the hardest for me to recommend.  Not because there aren't a ton to choose from, but more that I want to make recommendations that may end up lasting a longer time.  When kids are really little, you can end up acquiring a ton of products that only get used for a very short amount of time.  But there are a ton of great products out there that can grow with your kid....can be adapted to make it better to use depending on their age and skill set.  Here are my top 10 (with a little help from some of my new moms out there!):

Bolli-I am a huge fan of OgoSport so when I saw that they had created the Bolli ball I was psyched.  I was initially drawn to it because of its shape and design.  I loved how the open spaces in the ball encouraged manipulation and grasping skills in younger children.  But the more I looked at this ball, I realized just how great it really is.  It can also be used for teething without parents worrying because it is made of materials that are 100% nontoxic, BPA and phthalate free.  It's soft and pliable making it easy for young kids to squish and stretch it which is great for working on bilateral coordination skills and hand-eye coordination.  As kids get older, you can work on throwing and catching skills with it! For all you parents concerned about how you clean this thing, it can be thrown in the dishwasher!  Each pack comes with 3 varying colors so you don't have to worry if one gets lost.

Rainbow Cone Tower-I am pretty sure that most everyone knows about the original Fisher-Price Rainbow Stacker.  I mean, I remember it from my childhood and have used it during my career.  Some people aren't always open to having plastic toys and would rather spend a little more to have a toy that may last longer.  One thing to keep in mind with baby/toddler toys is that less may be more...bells and whistles and lights and flashes may actually be more over-stimulating for young children.  When I saw this wooden rainbow stacker at Norman and Jules, my local toy store in Park Slope, I kinda fell in love with it.  This is the wooden version of the Fisher-Price rainbow toy from my childhood.  It will work on improving grasping and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills, color recognition, motor planning and organizational skills.  This toy is made out of the highest quality and naturally harvested wood, colored using non-toxic dyes, paints and finishes meaning it's okay if your kid starts to chew on it!

pipSquigz-I have been a fan of the regular Squigz for a long time.  Their bright colors drew me in at first but then I fell in love with the popping sound they made as you pulled them apart from each other or off a mirror or wall.  The developmental skills that can be worked on while using them are amazing.  Then I discovered the pipSquigz and my mind was blown.  pipSquigz were created for younger kids and their little hands.  They are meant to encourage sensory exploration and awareness, stimulate bilateral coordination skills, hand-eye coordination and fine motor and manipulation skills.  Suggested for kids 6-months and older, but can be used as a teething device for younger children since they are BPA-free.  These are also great for speech and language development because you can teach kids color, sounds, feelings, etc. while they are playing.

Rody Horse-I've always loved Rody because he is super cute and the kids are always drawn to him.  They don't realize that they are actually working on developing trunk control and strength, balance and coordination skills and providing themselves with body awareness through the bouncing up and down while sitting on it.  Kids can also work on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills while holding onto Rody's ears.  While initially intended for children 2 and older (it can hold up to 100 pounds of weight), younger children can use it as well.  Rody comes in a variety of colors and is easy to pump up with a hand or foot pump.

Shape Sorter-a shape sorter is a really good gift to get for those younger kids because they will last a long time.  There are a lot to choose from which can make it confusing for people as they try and decide.  Over the years, they have evolved and I have found myself being more drawn to the wooden ones.  My new favorite shape sorter is by Hape (I love so many of their toys) because there is a sensory experience as well.  Each shape not only has balls/bells in them to make them rattle when shaken, they also coordinate with a color on the sorter.  You can start using this with kids as soon as they begin to sit up and are using their hands to explore the different shapes.  As they get older, you can start having them work on matching the shapes and colors.  Great for working on improving grasping and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and focus and attentional skills.  Made from all natural woods and painted with nontoxic paints, parents don't have to worry about kids putting the pieces in their mouth.

EZ Grip Massaging Teether Fruit-one of the biggest concerns I get from parents of my younger clients is that their sweet babes are putting everything in their mouths.  I've loved the vibrating fruit teethers by Innobaby for a while.  Babies get to soothe the pain from teething while working on grasping and hand-eye coordination skills.   I don't know from personal experience, but many people have said that by introducing kids to these fruit-like teethers that they have kids who are more open to trying a variety of fruits.   BPA, Phthalate, PVC and lead free, these are truly safe for your baby.

Poke-A-Dot Books-I discovered these books when my daughter was a baby and just loved them.  At the time, there were only 2 to choose from so I am happy to see that they have expanded their collection.  These books are interactive books that help in developing fine motor skills in babies and toddlers.  Each page has raised buttons that are part of the story (for example, you have to push a button down as you are counting the monkeys in 10 Little Monkeys). Using their pointer finger, kids push the buttons down as they are counting or finding objects on the pages.  Kids love the popping sound and that they get to be an active while having stories read to them.  Poke-A-Dot books are also great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, focus, attention, counting skills and language development.

Peek N Peep Eggs-sometimes the simpler the toy is, the better it is for kids.  This set of six eggs and chicks is an example of this.  Each chick is a different color and has different facial expressions that match one of the shells.  Great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills, focus and attention.  For toddlers, it's a great way to help them identify feelings and emotions. Oh, and they squeak when you push them down which is sure to make your wee one giggle!
*Be sure to check out your local toy stores for this product.  I have seen and purchased it from Little Things Toys in Park Slope.

Chomp and Count Dino-this toy was highly recommended to me by another occupational therapist who also happens to be the mom of 8-month twins.  The interactive dinosaur comes with eight play pieces that you feed to him.  It has a counting and a food mode.  As he "eats" them, he will respond with different phrases that will help your children learn about colors, numbers, shapes and food.  There is also an option of pressing a button that will ask your child a question about what they have just learned (this is obviously something to do with older children).  While this is intended for children 12 months and older, my friend has been doing hand-over-hand with her babies to have them put the pieces into the mouth.  This is great for not only learning a lot of important concepts, it helps to develop fine motor and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination and visual motor/perceptual skills.  Another great feature, it comes with a pull string so as your kids begin to walk, they can take the dino for a walk!

Oball Products-the classic Oball was my daughter's first favorite toy and I have been recommending and gifting it to people ever since.  Six years ago, they just had the classic ball but since then, they have evolved and developed a bunch of new products that are just as wonderful.  The concept is simple:  each ball is made up of holes which make it easy for those little hands to grab onto them.  They help in developing fine motor and grasping skills and encourage bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination.  They are super durable and made from non-toxic materials making them safe for teething.
Some of my new favorite products:
Oball rattle-just like the Oball Classic but has 3 rattles built in
Rattle and Roll Toy Car-this should be every babies first car!  It is easy for even the youngest child to grasp onto the top (which is made of an Oball) and push it back and forth
2-in-1 Roller Toy-this is a walking toy.  As kids begin to walk, they can push this.  They are rewarded with a fun sound as they push it all around
*again, be sure to check out your local toy stores to see if they carry them.  There isn't a single toy store in New York City that I have walked into that doesn't carry the Oball products.

If you are looking for gifts for older children, don't forget to check out the 2016 Holiday Gift Guide.

A Book Worth Reading

I'm sure many of you have had this experience before:  you walk into a bookstore with something in mind and you are drawn to another book (or 5) for whatever reason.  This happens to me a lot lately.  In addition to my work as an occupational therapist, I run a social skills group for The Meeting House.  The group is made up of children 5-8 years of age with a variety of social delays.  During the beginning of the weekly group, we have free choice and one of the very popular choices is reading books.  It's been so fun to find books that help children learn about feelings, emotions and other aspects of social emotional learning. 

Last week, I saw drawn to the beautiful cover of the book Be A Friend by Salina Yoon.  I was brought close to tears reading the story in Barnes and Noble and have shared it with just about every person I have run into since.  The story and illustrations are so incredibly beautiful and teach such an important lesson:  it's okay to be different.  

The basic premise of the book is simple:  Everyone Needs Someone.  In this case, that someone is a little boy named Dennis who doesn't speak but has a wild imagination and shares his thoughts and ideas through his actions.  Not many of the kids who are near him can be bothered by his behaviors but one day a little girl named Joy decides to take the brave step to get to know Dennis a bit more.  With time, they develop a beautiful friendship that relies on accepting and embracing someone who might be different.  In the end, the other children in Joy and Dennis' class saw what fun they had together and ended up joining in on their imaginative play.  

If you work with children, have a children or know anybody with children, I highly recommend this book being part of their library.  Sometimes children learn lessons better through stories and this story will be such an opportunity to have conversations with your children about accepting and understanding how every child is different.  Just because they may look, act or talk differently, it doesn't mean that you can't be their friend.  

I have several books about friendship for kids, but I have a special love for Be A Friend.  If you have a child who feels different from others, be sure to get this for them and read it to them again and again.  

Life Is An Open Book

This is a new addition to the gift guide.  My daughter is now 5 years old and in kindergarten so this is something that has been a major focus at home with her.  Finding fun and motivating ways to teach her how to spell, read and tell stories has been tricky.  However, there are so many great books and writing activities out there that have made such a big difference for

Over the course of the year, I've discovered some pretty great books that would make the perfect gift for those little bookworms in your life.  There is nothing like a good book, especially a good book that teaches important  life lessons to our little ones.  I could list a million books (not even exaggerating) but I am going to stick to ones that have teachable moments built in.  Ones that you can use to help children learn to be more creative are my favorite.

Just as important as the books, are the tools you can use to teach children how to learn the letters of the alphabet and numbers, learn how to read, spell and write.  Over the course of my career, I have tested out more toys than I can remember.  There are a lot to choose from and as parents, it can be very confusing to figure out which ones are the best for your child.

Below, you will find a handful of books that I think should be part of everyone's library.  You will also find different toys, games and activities that have been proven to be successful with the kids that I have worked with.  All of the activities I have mentioned are ones that can be used at home in a fun way.  They aren't workbooks, but real toys and activities that can be fun for children of all abilities.

I Am Books-I was introduced to these amazing children's books by one of the families I work with.  Brad Meltzer has written a series of books about real life heroes.  They are each written from the perspective of these heroes as children and talks about the struggles they had growing up.  He highlights what made them different and how they took those differences and made the world better.  For example, did you know that Albert Einstein was a later talker?  Or that Lucille Ball was encouraged to not be so funny?  My daughter who is 5 1/2 adores these books and I have been so impressed with what she has learned from each of them.  The questions she has asked and what she has taken from each book has been so fun to watch.
I Am Amelia Earhardt
I Am Rosa Parks
I Am Lucille Ball
I Am Helen Keller
I Am Martin Luther King
I Am Albert Einstein
I Am Jackie Robinson
I Am Abraham Lincoln
Disney Pixar Inside Out Box of Mixed Emotions-the success of the movie Inside Out was no surprise to me once I saw it the first time.  The kids I work with loved it and I loved how this movie helped kids feel okay about expressing their feelings and gain a better sense of understanding about their emotions.  When I saw these books, I had to pick them up to bring to work.  I run a social skills group at  The Meeting House for children with a variety of social difficulties.  We have put these books out for the kids during our snack and hangout time and they love them.  This set of 5 books features each emotion.  They are easy to read and even if you have a kid who can't read, they can look at the pictures instead.
In My Heart:  A Book of Feelings-this book by Jo Witeck is a brilliant and beautiful book about feelings.  For many of the kids I work with, understanding your feelings can be quite challenging.  In addition to being an occupational therapist, I work for The Meeting House, a recreational based after school program for awesome kids who have social difficulties.  This book is great for
Little Book of Big Fears-this book is written and illustrated by Monica Arnaldo and talks about all different kinds of things that people may be afraid of.  It introduces you to 16 children (in alphabetical order) who are each afraid of something different.  Drew is scared of raccoons and Quinn is horrified by needles.  Not all letters of the alphabet are in the book, but that is on purpose.  The letters that are missing spell out Gutsy and Brave....two things that will help a child get over their fears. This is a cute little book that helps children understand that it's okay to be scared of things and that there are ways to deal with those fears.

Hope Learning Toys-this brand of nature based learning toys have been created by a mother, teacher and toy lover.  Using a variety of objects found in the beautiful state of Maine, Heather has gathered rocks, shells, branches and wood to come up with an amazing set of learning toys.  My daughter has the Vintage Letter Alphabet Stones and adores them.  As soon as she received them, she started exploring them.  I loved that she wanted to put all the stones in alphabetical order while making their sounds.  We have been using them with her to practice her sight words during homework time and it has made it more interesting and exciting for her.  There are so many products to choose from beyond just the alphabet products.  I, for one, can't wait for the phonics matching game using wood from my favorite tree, the lilac tree.  You need to really spend some time exploring the Hope Learning Toys Etsy shop to find what products are best for your child.
Kids Story Maker-created by Magnetic Poetry, this kid friendly magnet sets encourages kids to build their own crazy stories using over 150 different word magnets.  I love how they have color coded all the words by different parts of language to reinforce nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, etc..  For so many of the kids I work with, writing a story can be really challenging for them (decreased writing endurance) but they have lots of ideas.  For those kids who need some creative ways to practice telling stories, this is a great solution.  You can make a long-term project out of it by having them write a few sentences at a time...first they create their story by putting the magnets up and then they can copy them into a book.

Tell Tale-another great storytelling game by Blue Orange.  Tell Tale has three different versions to choose from (original, Fairy Tale and Disney Pixar).  Using the 60 different cards and illustrated rules, kids and families work together to make a story.  It's hard to bore of this game because it's different every time you play.  The best part is that kids are learning the whole entire time but having tons of fun.  If you want to work on handwriting, you can have the kids write their stories out as they are telling it.  It might take more than one session in order to complete it, but I am always happy to find activities that we can do over the course of a few sessions.  Great for working on improving processing speed, verbal abilities, attention and problem solving and reasoning skills.

Alphabet Magnetibook-another great magnet book by Janod.  This is the perfect on the go toy to work on learning how to spell.  The set comes with 26 pictures and over 100 letter tiles. Each picture has the name spelt out so kids can dig through the letters and put them in the correct order.  I love how the magnet board is in a grid (reminds me of graph paper), requiring them to focus on putting the letters in the blocks and staying in order.  For older kids, you could find magnets of pictures without the words written on them in order to practice spelling.  This toy is not only great for working on learning the alphabet and learning how to spell, but great for working on developing fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.

BabyLit Playsets-I am a HUGE fan of the BabyLit series of board books.  They make such great  presents for all kids, especially kids of parents who love the classics.  When I saw these playsets, I got so excited.  There are four to choose from:   Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick and The Jungle Book.  Each set comes with the original board book and different punch-out cards featuring the different characters from the story. The box it comes in doubles as the scenery/background for the story.  These are great for working on improving focus and attention, language skills and creative skills.  You can also work on improving fine motor skills and visual motor/perceptual by pushing the pieces out of the board and putting them together to play with them.  I can't wait to get a couple of these sets not only for gifts, but to use in my social skills groups to put on little plays with the kids.

When kids learn how to read and write, the world opens up to them in the most exciting of ways.  The tricky part is actually finding ways to encourage kids.  The books and activities I talked about in this post have been proven to teach kids.  The most important thing about each of them is that they are fun and that it ends up giving them confidence.  My rule is to always start out simple and increase the challenges as the kids master them.  Kids are way more likely to keep trying when they are given the time to move at their own pace.

Do you have any great books that you have read that you want to share with my readers?  How about alphabet and handwriting games or activities that your kids love?  I would love to hear from any and all of with your suggestions.  I am always a click away and so appreciate all the suggestions that have been given to me from you all.

The Wonders of 'Wonder'

*I know that I have dedicated this blog to toys and apps but am taking a bit of a detour because I think this book is that good and should be read by anyone who works with children.

At the suggestion of my sister Molly, I began reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio on Thursday night.  I didn't know much about it other than I had to read it and had to read it immediately.  As mentioned, I began reading on Thursday and I couldn't put it down.  I finished it tonight while standing on the subway platform.  And I was unable to control myself and had tears running down my cheeks as I read the final pages.

The first thing you should know about this book is that it was written for young adults and tweens.  It's not meant for adults but I know of more adults reading this book right now, perhaps at my encouragement.  The second thing you should know is that you will cry.  Both the good kind of tears and the sad kind of tears.  Don't do what I did by reading the last few pages without a tissue handy.  You will need it.  Lastly, make sure that you have chunks of time to read it because you won't want to put it down.  You will be as anxious as I was to find out more.

I'm not going to share much about this book because I want you all to read it the same way I did.  Full of wonder and excitement with each turn of the page.  I will tell you that you will fall in love with 10 year old August, the main character of Wonder, and his friends and family.  You can go to the author's website here and check out the book trailer.  Below, I will share the description as written by R.J. Palacio:

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

I don't feel this way about many books but Wonder is the kind of book that I think everyone should read.  Especially those of us who work with children; most especially those of us who work with children with special needs.  Your eyes will be opened and your heart will want to burst.  I couldn't help but think of so many of the children I have worked with over the last 10 years and wonder if they ever felt the way the August felt.  I think parents of young adults and tweens should read this either with their child or at the same time.  It can teach your child about empathy, putting yourself in other's shoes and learning about how so much can be accomplished with the simple act of kindness.

Be sure to check out your local bookstores for your own copy of Wonder.  R.J. Palacio has written a gem of a story and I hope that this is just the first of many books we will be reading from her.  I read mine on my iPad but will be going out tomorrow to The Community Bookstore in Park Slope to get my hard copy.  I am already looking forward to reading this a second time because I feel like I rushed through in order to finish it!

I do hope that you all run out to purchase this book and would love to hear from all of you about your thoughts on this book if you choose to read it.  I would love to hear about what your favorite part was or what lessons you learned from reading August's story.  I am just a click away and hope to hear from some of you.

Happy Reading!

2011 Holiday Gift List

For those of you who haven't received my holiday list in the past, here is this years.  This list is different from ones in the past as I added a section for iPad/iPhone apps that I have found useful, both at home with my daughter and at work with all the children.  

Oldies but Goodies:

Here are a few of my favorite toys from the last few years.  They never get old and are a constant request at the gym from children of all ages!

Tumblin' Monkeys

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-T1852-Tumblin-Monkeys-Game/dp/B002MUALIM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323043558&sr=8-1

*works on color recognition, fine motor development, turn taking, problem solving

Wok and Roll

http://www.amazon.com/I-Play-P25056-Wok-and-Roll/dp/B00141D6BE/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323043625&sr=1-1

*works on fine motor development, color recognition, matching, improving frustration tolerance

Whac-A-Mole

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-P8115-Whac-A-Mole-Arcade-Game/dp/B0028K2WBA/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323044017&sr=1-1

*great game that kids ask for all the time.  works on color recognition, improving following directions, modulation and regulation/decreasing impulsive tendencies, upper extremity strength

Sticky Mosaic Activity Sets

http://www.orbfactory.com/

*these continue to be a huge hit with all the children.  They are now making sets for the littlest of fingers to the biggest, girls and boys.  They have simple projects that can get done quickly and have recently added a bunch of picture frames, 3D sets, etc.  These are great for fine motor development, increasing grasp strength, improving eye-hand coordination, number and color recognition

Magna-Tiles

http://www.amazon.com/Magna-Tiles-Clear-Colors-piece-set/dp/B000CBSNKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323101045&sr=1-1

*another constant favorite with children of all ages.  Works on visual motor and visual perceptual skills, color and shape recognition, motor planning.  Encourages creativity

LEGO Building Mosaic Set

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Building-Fun-Mosaics/dp/B000FZEUQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323101889&sr=1-1

*one of my all time favorite toy finds!  Not sure that they are in production, but every once in a while you can find them on sale for a decent price on Amazon.  These are great for fine motor/grasping skills, finger strengthening, color recognition, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and improving eye hand coordination.  

Jawbones Manipulative Toys

http://www.amazon.com/Jawbones-Construction-Toys-215-Piece/dp/B001NKGZW8/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323116209&sr=1-1

*for those who love LEGOS and any other manipulative toys.  You can twist, turn, snap and pop all these different shapes into place to make lots of cool designs.  You can make your own or follow the patterns provided.  Great for working on grasping, fine motor strength, motor planning and visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Also great for color recognition.

Some of my new favorites:

I spend hours and hours a year testing out and looking for new toys, books, etc. for the children I work with.  Nothing brings me more satisfaction than seeing children learn how to play a new game and develop new interests and skills.  Here are a handful of my favorites!

Wild Wool and Robo Champ LEGO Games

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Games-Wild-Wool/dp/B003U2G7E8/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323043693&sr=1-1 and

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Games-4568151-Robo-Champ/dp/B003AVNKVW/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323043693&sr=1-2

*this is a fun game that keeps children engaged for a long period of time.  It works on fine motor skill development, such as strength and in-hand manipulation skills.  Great game to play with friends and come up with different rules.  also works on problem solving, turn taking, compromising and working with other children to resolve conflicts/come up with game rules

LEGO Brick and More, My First LEGO Set

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004478GH4?ie=UTF8&tag=lothma04-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B004478GH4

*great first LEGO set for the younger ones who want to play with LEGOS like their older siblings.  LEGOS are always a great way to increase grasp strength and improve in-hand manipulation skills.  Also works on improving eye-hand coordination, visual perceptual skills and visual motor skills.  Can work on color and shape recognition as well.

Story Cubes

http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-318-Rorys-Story-Cubes/dp/B003EIK136/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323044143&sr=8-1

*for older/school age children.  These cubes are great for working on sequencing, creativity and story telling.  Can be done individually or with a group of friends to make it more interactive.  

Bananagrams

http://mbeans.com/bananagrams.html?deptid=180

*for older/school age children.  Works on letter recognition, spelling and improving fine motor skills/grasping skills and improving in-hand manipulation skills.

Jenga

http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-53557-Jenga/dp/B000GBA60W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323049783&sr=8-1

*not a new game, but new to my list.  This has become a new favorite in the gym as of late.  Works on motor planning, modulation/regulation, turn taking and problem solving.  For school or group situations, you can take the Jenga pieces and write questions on them and turn it into a social skills game as well!

Unforgettable Memory Game

http://www.landofnod.com/educational-toys/toys-gifts/unforgettable-memory-game-junior/f6640

*i am a big fan of wooden games and things that don't make a lot of noise or require batteries.  I saw this game in the Land of Nod and was immediately sold.  There are 8-memory games in one set.  Great for working on eye hand coordination, memory, sequencing, improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.

Waiter-In-Waiting Balancing Game

http://www.landofnod.com/all-toys/toys-gifts/waiter-in-waiting-balancing-game/f9050

*another one of those great wooden games that should last forever!  You have to try and figure out the best way to get as many of the blocks balanced on the waiters arm.  Great for color recognition, improving frustration tolerance, motor planning and works on modulation and regulation.  

Kids City Maps-City Walk Cards

http://www.landofnod.com/educational-toys/toys-gifts/kids-city-walks/f7833

*there are a million amazing things to do in this city (and every city really!).  These cards will give you some fun activities to do in NYC and many other cities that you just might visit.  

Yogarilla Cards

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=OTSC8609

*i have recently become a big fan of Yoga during my OT sessions.  The benefits are endless for all children (and adults).  Yoga can work on motor planning, improve modulation and regulation, improve bilateral coordination skills and works on crossing the midline.  These are great cards that make it easy to explain how to do each pose even if you aren't into yoga yourself.  

Move Your Body Cards

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=FD116

*great for motor planning, following directions, body strengthening and motor coordination.  Cards are easy to understand and super motivating.

Pre-Handwriting Fun Deck

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=FD119

Fine Motor Fun Deck

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=FD105

*these cards are a fantastic way to introduce handwriting and pre-writing skills to our younger children.  They are dry erase cards so you can use them over and over again.  There are a bunch of hand and body activities to go along with each written activity on the back.  The benefits to these two sets of cards are endless.  They are a new favorite for my children at the office!

Ten Little Monkeys and Old MacDonald's Farm Dot Books

http://www.amazon.com/Poke---Dot-Little-Monkeys-Poke-able/dp/1584769386/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323115961&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Poke-Dot-MacDonalds-Poke-able-Poppin/dp/160169024X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

*i discovered these fantastic books this summer.  They are a favorite of my daughter.  They are great for fine motor skill development, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, improve counting skills and eye-hand coordination

iPad/iPhone Applications

It didn't seem right to not include this category in this year's list.  I, like many of you, have begun to use the iPad in the gym more often.  It is a very motivating tool for the children and the applications available are endless.  I find that I am able to work on concepts and achieve goals using the iPad as inceptive.  It is also great because it works on improving eye hand coordination, finger and hand strength and improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Here are just a few of my favorites (but this changes on a day to day basis as new ones come out!)

Crayola Trace and Draw and Crayola ColorStudio HD 

*http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058CT33K?ie=UTF8&tag=lothma04 20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0058CT33K

you will need to order this stylus in order to get the full effect of these games.  Children love the coloring and drawing aspect of these two apps.  You are able to adjust the difficulty of each project which makes this a good app for all ages.  Even those most resistant to doing handwriting and coloring can be motivated to do this when presented on an iPad.

Fun With Directions HD

Great application that works on following directions and auditory processing.  There are varying levels so this is good for pre-schoolers through grade school.  Works on a bunch of different concepts that our children are learning in school. 

Kidsapp hd: The Farm

This has been a big hit with preschool and younger grade school children.  Colorful puzzles and coloring pages are very motivating for children.  This is good for visual tracking and scanning when you ask them to find animals in the barn.  

Wally's Where's My Water/Cut the Rope

*fun game for the older kids who love to problem solve.  I like to work on these kinds of games with my children who have regulation and modulation issues.  Teaches them to work on slowing down their actions and not rushing through an activity.  This one is fun for the parents as well!  I am currently hooked on Wally's Where's My Water!

Rush Hour

*like the board game version of this, but on the iPad.  Children are a big fan of this game and so am I.  This works on problem solving, improving frustration tolerance.  I love presenting games that a child might play in this format to work on generalizing skills learned elsewhere or in a different way.  

PianoBall

*for those children who love music.   Older preschool/elementary school level app.  Learn how to "play" the piano by following the directions.  Works on color recognition and modulation and regulation, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  The children are SO proud when they can play a whole song!

Question Builder

*great for auditory processing and working on how to answer questions.  Works on answering who, what, why, how questions in a fun and motivating way for children who might resist these types of activities otherwise.