Henrietta’s Thistleberry Boots

Product Description

Every night before going to bed, Henrietta dances bare-pawed in her front yard, packs her backpack for the morning, brushes her teeth, and tucks her stuffed animals into bed. But when poisonous thistleberries start falling in the forest and Henrietta is forced to stay home from school for a whole year, many of her beloved routines are disrupted. Henrietta must learn how to wear boots to protect her from the thistleberries, a challenging task since she hates anything touching her paws. And she must learn how to be flexible when confronted with change. Henrietta’s Thistleberry Boots is a picture book meant to share at home or in the classroom. Henrietta is a unique, spirited, and determined character who struggles with not knowing. Children, parents, and teachers will all relate to the powerful emotions evoked by change and the unknown. The themes in this story—adjustment, patience, and courage—will inspire children to be resilient when confronted with life’s challenges.

Review

“What an adorable (and timely) book! With simple words, charming pictures, and a relatable story, author Laura Kirby and illustrator Marcy Tippmann address many of the challenges children  around the world are facing today. From how to adapt to a changing routine, to the distressing realization that parents don’t have all the answers, to the need to come to terms with uncomfortable changes required to stay healthy. This book will immediately strike a chord with children and parents who have lived through the global pandemic and will continue to resonate long after it has passed.”

–
Eli R. Lebowitz, Associate Professor in the Yale Child Study Center, Director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders and author of
Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents

“‘Changing her routines had been the scariest thing of all.’ This was one of my favorite lines in the book, and it is SO true. This book helps to normalize these scary feelings kids can have when they have todeviate from their schedule. It is a great read for all early childhoodeducators, parents, and counselors. I often do guidance lessons, and one of the big topics I use is flexibility. I can already think of so manygreat guidance lessons to do around ‘Henriettas’s Thistleberry Boots!'” – Katherine Gilmore, Elementary School Counselor

“Henrietta’s Thistleberry Boots is such a great read for students and children on teaching flexibility, resiliency, and hope. As an Elementary School Counselor, I used this book during individual sessions, group sessions, and classroom lessons. Students were able to quickly relate to the changes Henrietta was going through and see her willingness to adapt to change. It gave students a positive outlook on the changes they were going through during this pandemic. I look forward to using this book again in the future when more students return to school from distance learning. My favorite part of the book was the storyline and the analogies to the pandemic. I also appreciated the beautiful illustrations as it is very appropriate for kids. I give this book 5 Stars!”
-Brandon Castro, Elementary School Counselor

About the Author

Laura Anderson Kirby, Ph.D. is a children’s book author inspired by her work as child clinical psychologist and her experience raising two young, spirited children. She completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University, where she majored in Psychology and minored in English. She then spent two years in training at the Yale Child Study Center, followed by a five-year Developmental/Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland. Laura then returned to the Yale Child Study Center to complete her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship. Currently, she is a Clinical Associate at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. Laura’s passion is to promote social emotional learning through her writing, to help spirited and neurodiverse children fee