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It is hard to cope with fear. You don't want to get hurt or overreact. Yet you also want to be safe. Cal and Ada are both afraid of spiders and do not know how to cope with their fear. Ben who is one of their many monster friends who play together in the 'I Feel When' book series helps them out with this. They cope with their feelings of fear in this second book of the series. Ada struggles with finding a way to handle the fact that there is a spider coming towards her. Cal also does not know what to do. Their enthusiastic friend Ben has experience with spiders and shows them how to handle the situation. Ben removes the spider from the room safely by using a glass and a piece of paper slid under it. Finally, both Ada and Cal thank him. They explain how afraid they were and how relieved they are now. They work out their feelings and then they all play a game together. This colorful book opens the door to discussing fear in a nonthreatening way for younger audiences. It also uses nonviolent communication as described on the YouTube channel 'Dealing with Feelings' by psychotherapist Dr. Jim Porter and Karen Porter in their weekly show 'Feeling Fridays'. The husband-and-wife team invites you to explore feelings with your young reader as they begin to read. See how these furry friends learn appropriate ways to express feelings and solve problems by coping with their feelings through listening to one another and observing each other without judgement, expressing feelings and needs, and coping with feelings in compassionate helpful ways.
