Niet Vechten, Niet Bijten, Niet Schreeuwen

My son finally has a handle on his meltdowns since we started using the red beast as a visual cue—he'll actually say "the beast is waking up" instead of screaming. That simple metaphor changed everything.

My 6-year-old actually asks to read this one, which never happens with books about feelings. The red beast growing bigger and bigger as the anger builds is such a simple way to explain what's happening inside him. We've started saying "the beast is waking up" when he gets frustrated, and it's been a

The red beast illustration is what sold my son on it — he points at the growing monster and says "that's my mad." We've read it three nights in a row now, and he's actually naming his feelings instead of just melting down.