I Can't Wait (Children’s Problem Solving Series)

My 6 year old daughter loves the books by Elizabeth Crary. She likes that there are different endings to the story, depending on which outcome she picks. This would be a great series for elementary school teachers to add to their collection. It truly helps children learn how to deal with their emotions.

I read this Crary series to my sons-- they choose them sometimes if they have had an issue at school. I think it helps them think through issues, though I will say in general they react emotionally still-- little by little I see them try to think of other options. I have also caught them in mid-fight and asked "what are some other ideas of what you could do..." and they remember things from the books.If your child is more a watcher, little shy, sometimes just feels awkward -- these are great life social relationship building books!!!

I was very excited when I first saw these books and purchased "I Can't Wait" and "I'm Mad." I purchased these books with the intention of using them with my child that has an autism spectrum disorder. While the whole concept of the books is great and the wording is nice and simple, there are some major problems with the books that kept me from using them with my daughter and will keep me from purchasing more. First, the children in the story exhibited behavior that we felt was inappropriate for our daughter's age (8) and in certain situations (like school). Example: The child in "I'm Mad" is given the option of stomping as a 'physical release' to the anger. Stomping was not an option we felt was appropriate for an 8-year-old at school. Also, we felt that negative options should not be presented at all for our child with ASD as she sometimes has a tendency to model the bad options as well as the good ones. The child in "I Can't Wait" is given the option of being mean and attempts to push the other child off the mattress. Although the child does not get want he wants as a result of this bad choice, he does not receive any negative consequences as a result. So, although instantly hopeful that this would become a helpful teaching tool for our oldest, we were let down. In fact, we're not even going to use them with our typical 4 year old due to the negative options offered in the book. A little tweeking, though, and these books could be fantastic for children with all ability levels.

I bought these to help teach social skills to preschool kids and didn't end up using them much. Maybe better for older grades.