Welcome to Litsy!

A children's book that portrays care and humanity
To overcome a crisis, a person needs to allow themselves to experience the full range of emotions that arise and receive validation through the empathy of others
When giving advice, people tend to take less ownership of their feelings and their healing process
But when they share and experience their emotions, they take ownership, enabling healing
Our empathy makes this possible
So touching!

“If Evan‘s Garden couldn't be a happy place, then he was going to make it the saddest place around. “

I would read this book in my classroom to show my students that grief is normal, but it can get better. Or if there was a loss of a loved one or a pet of one of my students, I would read this to the other students to help them understand.

The Rough Patch by Brian Lies. 2018. This book is an intense book about how it feels to lose a loved one. The realistic artwork and placement of words shows how important this dog was to Evan. When the dog passes the colors changed from bright to dull and the words from white to black. The lines of truck show movement and excitement as Evan tries to feel better.

“But a good place won‘t stay empty for long”

This book could be used to focus on SEL and support students if they are going through a loss in their family, person and pet alike. This helps show how to overcome and persevere for all ages.

The book opens on Evan and how he and his dog do everything together. One day Evan‘s dog dies and he has to figure out how to continue on without him by his side. This being said, a book about loss has such a deeper meaning to going through a “rough patch.”