Product reviews for The Wolf and the Shadow Monster

The Wolf and the Shadow Monster (handling anxiety and fears) demonstrates how to handle fright and fear that looms under the bed for children. I like how the other characters first poke fun at Wolfgang, which covers up their own fears, but when they are faced with the unknown they also experience their own fear.  It is Spider to the rescue who teaches Wolfgang and all of his friends how to cope with their fear in that moment. Of course this response also needs to be presented with the facts that there may be times when fear should not be addressed but when a child should get an adult or even run away if safety is at risk. 



In the teaching guide, the activities continue to offer new ideas, or the teacher or parent can go back to earlier exercises to address emotions, what to do when feeling anxious, and how to calm oneself in order to know what to do. The use of creativity including movement, art, music, poetry, play to the developmental level of children, who are much more likely to express themselves in these ways than in writing or even talking. I like -˜draw your brave' as an example of this. Also, I especially like the section for adult care givers on -˜managing anxiety or an anxiety attack'. This offers suggestions on what adults can do if they recognize that a child in experiencing anxiety at that time. Good resource. Also referring the child to someone appropriately trained to handle anxiety may also be recommended in case a stronger intervention is needed.