Hi! I’m Charlie. In my mind and in my body, all my emotions fight to take up as much space as they can. I like to picture my feelings as balloons. Sometimes they’re so light they float away. Other times, they’re so heavy it’s like they’re filled with water… For highly sensitive kids and the parents, teachers, and families who love them. Charlie's experience is relatable to all children who feel big emotions, from joy to fear and everything in between. Their story shows that not only is it fine to be highly sensitive, it is in fact a great strength.
Titles...that support SEL in the classroom. ...Charlie uses the metaphor of balloons bouncing, floating, inflating, and bursting to describe how they feel. They share the strategies they use to deal with their emotions and assert that being sensitive is a strength that allows them to be curious, empathetic, creative, etc. In Class: Cut balloon shapes out of construction paper and label them with different emotions. Let students draw on the balloons and add shapes and colours to match the emotion on their balloon.
"Charlie guides children and their caregivers through the world of highly sensitive feelings in a gentle manner….Élodie Duhameau’s pictures complement the text well by illustrating the emotions discussed in the book with bright and colourful images….children can add to the story with their own experiences and then create a list of calming activities of their own."