Book Review: Steps and Stones (An Anh’s Anger Story)

By Gail Silver

What it’s about:

This is a second book about Anh’s Anger (review of that book here.) This time Anh’s anger comes to visit him at school when his friends ditch him on the playground.

What we love about it:

The anger is back! This book is great because it shows what happens when a kid feels like crying on the playground at school. (All kids have had that experience.) This time Anh needs a new strategy to put that anger at bay. They try walking and counting their steps. They walk as slowly as possible. Eventually, the anger gets too tired to continue and Anh is able to approach his friends and move on with his day. For many children a sensory experience, like paying attention to their feet touching the ground while walking, will pull their focus away from the upset and towards the physical sensation. This helps move children out of their emotional brain (amygdala) and into their problem solving brain (pre-frontal cortex).

We like that it gives a different strategy from the last book, and that it shows kids that yes, all kids get angry, even at school, and we still need to figure out ways to help calm ourselves down.