My Heart

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2019

"My heart is a window,
my heart is a slide.
My heart can be closed
or opened up wide."

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Corinna Luyken

Luyken (1978 - ) since studying at Middlebury College has illustrated five children's books, receiving numerous awards and recognition for her work. My Heart began as a poem written many years ago & Luyken has a wonderful interview about her work on this book at Teaching Books' Meet the Author.

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Book Synopsis

My Heart is a sweet poem about self-acceptance amidst the different conditions and feelings of the heart. The illustrations enchantingly visualize a child's Big Feelings with simple lines, child-familiar objects and activities, and the contrasts between grays and yellow.

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Picture book, poetry, 33 pages. A charming poem about the heart and self-acceptance.

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Research indicates that children with strong emotional intelligence skills are better able to pay attention, are more engaged in learning, and have healthier peer relationships. There are five areas of social-emotional intelligence we can teach to our children:

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social Skills

Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
My Heart is one of those books you read together at bedtime after a long day of big feelings. And again the next day when your child has some gray and yellow crayons or markers available to draw pictures of their own feelings while listening.

Classroom Resource
Teaching children empathy, a fundamental social-emotional skill, begins with self-acceptance. For older children, My Heart and a short animated video by Brené Brown would be a solid introduction to a self-acceptance and empathy unit.

Learning at Home
The artistic technique, monoprinting, used to create the meaning and beauty in Luyken's illustrations in My Heart can be taught at home!

• Monoprinting with Kids the Easy Way
• DIY: Monotype Printing
• 5 Different Ways to Try Monoprinting in the Art Room

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