I will calm myself so I can comfort you
Emotional empathy
| Author | Tatjana Gjurković, Tea Knežević |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jelena Brezovec |
| Original Title | Umirit ću sebe da mogu utješiti tebe |
| ISBN | 978-953-8008-85-6 |
| Format | softcover |
| Pages | 24 |
| Size | 22x22 cm |
| Age range | Early learning (2 – 6), Beginning readers (5 – 7) |
| Category | Empathy |
|---|---|
| Tag | Empathy series |
WRITTEN BY EXPERTS IN CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
When Tony saw his friend Nikki at kindergarten, he noticed that she was very sad. She told him that her cat had died. Tony didn’t know the cat, but he suddenly felt overwhelmed with sadness. He didn’t have the strength to comfort Nikki because of the weight of his feelings. He started to cry and needed some space to let his feelings out. However, a little bee on the window helped him calm down and think of what he could do to help Nikki.
Empathy is a word that is being mentioned more and more over the last few years as an important factor and precondition for positive changes in our society. We agree that life would be better and nicer for all of us if we only treated ourselves and each other with more understanding and compassion for the things we are going through. Especially because we live in an increasingly complex world and go through serious challenges.
Experts mostly describe empathy as a partly inherited trait and partly the result of nurture, upbringing and early life experiences. They also agree that upbringing focused on empathy should start from the earliest age. Children learn from adults, they observe us and react to our direct incentives, so it is of great importance to give empathy an important role in children’s upbringing.
This picture book deals with the type of empathy we call – emotional empathy. It refers to our ability to truly feel other people’s feelings, even if we do not share the experience that evoked those strong emotions.
In this story, children will meet an empathetic boy named Tony who absorbed in all the sadness of his friend Nikki, even though nothing has happened to him personally. Empathetic sorrow was so overwhelming that it took his ability to provide consolation to his dear friend. There is another character in the picture book who represents adults – little bee who is helping Tony to emotionally regulate and calm himself first, so he could give Nikki comfort she needed at that moment of sadness.
At the end of the book, you can find advice for parents and caregivers with guidelines on how to act when child’s emotional empathy is too strong or too overwhelming, or when child’s emotional empathy is not felt or expressed enough.
Author: Tatjana Gjurković
Tatjana Gjurković has a master’s degree in psychology, she is certified psychotherapist, certified child play therapist (RPT), Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA), Teacher and Supervisor of Transactional Analysis (TSTA). She works individually with children and adults and holds educational programs for specialists in fields of child play therapy and transaction analysis. She is author of a book “Play Therapy with children” and 28 therapeutic picture books. She continuously promotes the importance of mental health in children and adults through Centar Proventus which she co-founded with her colleague Tea Knežević.
Author: Tea Knežević
Tea Knežević has master’s degree in psychology, she is certified psychotherapist, certified child play therapist (RPT) and Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA). She provides play therapy with children, psychotherapy with adults, parent consultations, and conducts numerous training courses for professionals in Centar Proventus which she co-founded with her colleague Tatjana Gjurković. She has written 28 picture books with therapeutic stories for children. In addition, she is the author of several manuals related to psychological resilience, gifted children, and anger management.
Illustrator: Jelena Brezovec
Jelena Brezovec has a master’s degree in social studies. For a long time, drawing was just a hobby, until 2008 when she became a co-founder of the publishing house Evenio and decided to study digital illustration, with the focus on children’s illustration. So far, she has illustrated more than 40 picture books and many other publications. She is the winner of the Grigor Vitez “Bird” Award, a special praise from the children’s jury. She has illustrated the most popular children’s book series in Croatia – Mrljek & Prljek. Her illustrations have been part of many exhibitions throughout Croatia. She lives and works in Varaždin, Croatia.
