The Rabbit Listened

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

By: Cori Doerrfeld / Publisher: Young Readers-Penguin Random House

Distribution: Febuary, 2019

Taylor is overcome with sadness when an impressive block construction crashes to the ground, and none of his animal friends’ suggestions help. Each creature proposes an outlet: Chicken wants to talk about it, Bear surmises that Taylor is angry and offers to “shout about it,” Hyena suggests laughing. Taylor doesn’t feel like doing any of those things and remains in a funk. But when Rabbit cuddles in close and listens, the Taylor finally lets loose. With sadness finally dispelled, Taylor can now envision beginning again to build something “amazing.” The book encourages group discussion of ways to help others deal with these emotion

Family Activities

Similar to adults, little kids go through experiences that may cause them sadness or worry, such as: entering a new kindergarten, being separated from parents, losing people they love, or losing pets they are attached to. These may also be fleeting daily experiences, such as losing a favorite item, ...

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Dear Parents,

What do we usually do as parents? Of course, we are concerned about our child and want to help them in several ways: We may try to minimize the impact of the event, lessen its importance, and reassure the child that everything will be alright; We might exaggerate the event, become preoccupied with it by using words and actions, and try to find a solution without involving the child; Or we might just ignore the topic altogether, like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.

But perhaps what our child needs at that moment is for us to embrace them and make them feel that we are listening to their anxiety, fear, or sadness, until they feel ready to share with us what is on their mind.

Family Activities

We can stop at the drawing of the child after his tower had collapsed. We can talk about how the child feels at that moment. What parts of the drawing tell us how he feels?
We can recall the animals’ reactions. How did each animal try to help the child? If we were in the child’s shoes, would we accept the help of one of the animals? which one would it be?
The rabbit helped the child by listening to him, as he was expressing his anger, sadness, frustration, and his desire to build a new tower. With our child, we can look at the drawings of the rabbit, in each one: How did the rabbit’s body language show that he was listening to the child? (He stayed close to him, grabbed his hands, looked at him, searched for him under the box ...)
We can talk with our child about a similar situation they went through, in which they felt sad or angry. We can try to remember what helped them calm down and start over. We may notice that our child resorts to their doll, especially the one with soft fabric, to convey their feelings - which is a normal behavior for kindergarten children - but it does not substitute our presence next to our child, and our sympathy for them.
With our child, we can recall an experience they went through in kindergarten or at home, in which they supported a friend or a grieving relative. This is an opportunity to explain to our child the importance of being compassionate and supportive of others. We may wish to share a personal experience with our child, with family members, friends, and co-workers.
Do we have wooden cubes or empty plastic boxes in our house? Let's have fun building a model with our child. If it breaks down, it's okay, we can always build a new one, and it will definitely be cool!
Enjoy your reading!