Follow along as Toad learns to manage their intense emotions using a deep breathing technique taught to them by a friendly beaver. Sixteen pages of colorful, engaging illustrations help children relate to Toad’s struggle with difficult feelings such as fear, anger, and sadness. The story presents an effective coping strategy—deep belly breathing—in a way that’s simple and fun for kids.

Comparison: Teach children about working with difficult emotions by having them compare their experience with Toad’s. Which emotions do they struggle with most? What are common triggers of these emotions? Are they missing out on any activities as a result?

Skill acquisition & practice: Encourage children to follow along with the story and then help them practice the breathing technique afterward. Normalize difficult emotions, but emphasize that there are effective ways of dealing with them, such as deep belly breathing.

Lessons: At the beginning of the story, Toad avoids many important activities due to feeling upset. After mastering the deep breathing technique, they’re able to face their difficulties and return to the activities they love. Upsetting emotions still happen, but Toad now has the confidence to handle them.

Ask children to name situations when they experience difficult emotions and then encourage them to use the breathing skill in these moments.