MaiStoryBook Library

MaiStoryBook: Ravi’s Roar + *When I Want to Roar…* Calming Craftivity

Introducing the third installment in the Big Bright Feelings series, focusing on controlling your temper~ featured in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

“Ravi’s Roar” by Tom Percival

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “Ravi’s Roar” to start your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ 5% of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)~*

Book Synopsis and Review

What happens when Ravi can’t control his temper? Ravi has always been the smallest~ he’s the youngest in his family after all. And most of the times, being smallest isn’t too bad- there can be some bonuses. But sometimes, being small isn’t too great either… like being last in every race, or being too small to ride the Big Slide, or being last in line for ice cream… and then there’s NO MORE ICE CREAM. For Ravi, after a day of several *small* mishaps, no more ice cream is the last, straw~ suddenly, Ravi finds himself sprouting a tale, popping up two ears, growing fangs, and letting out a gigantic ROAR! And when Ravi Roars, he soon comes to realize, suddenly everything goes his way, and everyone does what he wants. But what happens when he begins to notice that no one wants to play with a roaring tiger who breaks all the rules?? Can Ravi control his temper and learn an important lessons about voicing his feelings?

With the latest installment in the Big Bright Feelings Series, author Tom Percival creates another children’s book that introduces littles to ideas of emotional intelligence~ in this case, about anger management and making friends. As I’ve mentioned, for children, learning how to express and convey their emotions are skills that need to be modeled and taught. Through picture books such as this one, children are exposed to an example of feelings and experiences they can relate to, and learn through both the visuals and text about positive ways to manage their emotions. Topics about mental and emotional health can be difficult to discuss with any audience, but through his books, with their simple story line, relatable characters, and charming illustrations, Tom Percival has created a child-friendly access point to starting these conversations and exploring these topics. (Check out the first two books in the Big Bright Feelings Series, also featured on MaiStoryBook: Perfectly Norman and Ruby Finds a Worry)

Vocabulary

  • gaps (p. 9) small spaces or holes between two things
  • wide (p.9) a big space between two things
  • furious (p. 13) very very mad
  • sprouted (p. 13) grew, or popped up
  • leaped (p. 19) a far jump

Themes/ Main Ideas

  • It’s important to recognize and express your feelings. Make sure you share them in away that keeps yourself and others safe.
  • When you are mad, what can you think, say, and do to help calm down and feel better. Think about why you are mad, what you can do to fix it that will help you and the other people involved feel better.

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example

Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of “Ravi’s Roar” – how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

*~Check it Out~*

Subscribe: MaiStoryBook Youtube Channel for additional read aloud videos!

Plus, here is some additional info regarding the calming techniques and tools I mentioned in the video:

Soothing Sparkle/Glitter Jar: The swirling, swaying glitter patterns that slowly drift and settle to the bottom of the jar after a good shake are designed to sooth and relax busy minds. A great, visually stimulating sensory tool for any little (or adult). Check out this Good To Know blog post to learn how to make your own.

Energy Chime Bars for Mindfulness: These bars emit the most soothing reverberating echo that relaxes, calms, and re-energizes~ perfect for meditation or mindfulness, and for taking a moment to reset, breathe, and refocus. Check them out here.

*When I Want to Roar…* Calming Craftivity

Especially during times of change and uncertainty (such as during a quarantine and pandemic where entire routine schedules are disrupted), littles can be bunched up bundles of emotions. Sometimes, they do well covering up their feelings, other times, they do a bit too well bottling them up~ thus leading to an eventual *explosion* of emotions. Neither is the healthiest emotional choice. Often times for littles, however, they have difficulty identifying what emotions they are experiencing leading to a variety of manifestations of behavior. An angry child may rant and yell, they may be resistant to typically simple and mundane routines, they may lash out to hurt others, or simply shut down and avoid any interaction or engagement. Last year, I had a first grader who was a fountain of emotions, bubbling with ups and downs. Having had no tools or examples of how to moderate her feelings, her distractibility and unpredictable behavior was her norm. While it did take weeks of building a relationship with her, learning what she liked, her interests, what her triggers were, slowly a team and I were able to present her with feelings boards to identify her emotions, and strategies and tools to use to help her target frustrations or self soothe in a safe way for herself and her peers. While this may represent a more extreme case, it’s a example of the imperative need children have for social emotional skill development. Teach them ways to identify and express their emotions in a productive way when they are young so they can carry these skills with them as they grow up. Today’s craft, inspired by the story, targets anger management, and provides a questioning strategy to help littles calm down and find solutions to their problems in a way that helps themselves and others involved feel better about the situation. Check out *When I want to Roar…* below for a SEL bookish craftivity:

Materials

Directions

  • Choose a “Tiger Head” template. There are colored and black-and-white versions. Each one has 2 Text choices: “When I Want to Roar…” or “When I am mad…”
  • The text can be printed in bold black, or outlined-white 
  • Cut out the Tiger Heads.
  • If you chose the black and white version, color it in.
  • Cut the Tiger Head into two pieces on the dotted line by the jaw. 
  • Next, choose a “Tiger Mouth” inside-template.  There are colored versions, or black and white versions. 
  • There are also different fill in template versions: a fill-in version with steps and prompts, a version with steps but no prompts, and a blank version with 4 sections. 
  • Fill in the “Tiger Mouth” with steps/questions to ask-and-answer to help you calm down when you are mad, and then cut it out. **Keep the white top and bottoms tabs on**
  • Fold the “Tiger Mouth” on the lines: 3 lines = 3 folds. Fold the top section forward and down, and then ”accordion fold” the rest. 
  • To connect the “Tiger Mouth” to the Tiger Head, fold the top-tab back, and tape the top-tab to the back of the bottom of the top half of the “Tiger Head”
  • Fold the bottom tab back. Then tape/glue the tab to the back of the top of the bottom half of the “Tiger Head.”
  • The “Tiger Mouth” should fold together to join the top half and the bottom half of the “Tiger Head,” and then unfold to show all 4 sections when the lid is lifted.
  • (The Tiger Mouth should fold up to be behind the top half of the head to stay hidden when the Tiger Head pieces are connected. )

How to Use Your *When I Want to Roar* Calming Craftivity

  • When you feel angry, open the jaws of your *Tiger Head* craft, and go through the steps and questions to figure out why you are upset, and what you can do to calm down and fix the situation
  • Share your Caftivity with a friend or family member and tell them an example of how you can use the strategies within to help you control your anger
  • Have a family or friend share what they do to calm down or solve a problem when they are upset
  • Re-Read the story “Ravi’s Roar” or watch MaiStoryBook’s interactive read aloud again, and use your creativity as a reading buddy, offering suggestions to Ravi along the way of what he can do to control his anger when he turns into a *ferocious* Tiger
  • Hang up your Craftivity as a reminder of a tool you can use when you feel like you can’t control your anger

*~Overall, as always, I hope you all are staying safe, staying healthy, and supporting each other through these times! Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary, Twitter @MaiStoryBook  – post on FaceBook – or contact me via email to share your own *When I Want to Roar…* Calming Craftivities, and your own reading adventures! I’d love to hear from you !~*

*~Until next time, Happy Reading~*