Hurty Feelings

We recently checked this book out of the library. I was not familiar with Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, but my 5 year old (and I) loved this book on the first read. The illustrations are delightful. The best part is the wonderful drama that can be injected while reading. My daughter loves all the great weeping and wailing that Fragility performs (she is a bit of a drama queen, eh?). Not only is it fun to read, it also has wonderful life lessons, such as: learning to like yourself, accepting compliments graciously, and even dealing with bullies (Rudy the bully ends up in a weeping pile himself, and he actually learns some lessons too). I'm here today to purchase this book and any other Lester/Munsinger books I can find.

I find that my 4 year old granddaughter really responds well to Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, as do I. Which made this a perfect one for talking about the feelings of her 2 year old brother.

Everything by Helen Lester is a pleasure to read to children, and have children read to you. The illustrations are always delightful as well.

Fragility is a hippo who is very insecure. Her friends give her nice compliment but she always takes them as insults. Fragility cries all the time and her friends start to avoid her. Things change for Fragility one day when she decides to stand up to the neighborhood bully Rudy the elephant. Find out how Fragility turns her life around and learns some important like lessons. What did you like or not like about the book? We felt that the book could be used to start various discussions on feelings. Also the topic of bullies could be brought up as well after reading this cute picture book. Yes. The cover shows a big hippo crying and using up boxes full of tissues. Itdraws you in and makes you want to read to book to see what is wrong with her.

This is the story of Fragility, a hippopotamus who, despite her large size, was very fragile emotionally. Even when someone complimented her she managed to reframe it into an insult and was hurt again. So what happens when she is responsible for protecting the goal in the soccer match and the bully of an elephant decides to insult her? You'll have to read the book to get the answer. "Hurty Feelings" is a fun read for children with well-drawn illustrations that are both detailed and humorous, and an excellent message, which makes it a highly recommended read.