Do You Like Me Blue? by Krishelle

You five years old. You are alone and don’t fit in. No one will talk or play with you. You are frustrated and angry. You can’t bear it, but everyday you must go to school and face it all over again. For the young rabbit in this story, her trouble is that she doesn’t speak English. But any young person who has ever felt isolated and alone will identify with the experience. It helps a young person to know that feeling alone happens to others too and that the feelings of anger and sadness are not his or hers alone. The story can also help children develop sympathy and accept new faces and those who may not fit in easily. Written and drawn at a level 4-7 year old children can relate to, one teacher who had brought a copy to her class reported that her students would fight over whose turn it was to read the story and that her students read the story over and over until the copy she had disintegrated from overuse. One of the key concepts behind the story is Emotional Intelligence. Children can develop healthy and positive emotions if stories that excite them have positive emotions in the story. First it must be a good story that a child likes. If a child identifies with a story, many things can follow, such as conveying positive emotional reactions and awareness.