Systems Thinking for Kids, Big and Small: Exploring How Systems Work Through Favorite Children's Stories

Systems thinking provides structure to understanding our complex world. Stories, whether our own or selections from literature, offer a powerful hook to recognition of the interconnectedness within a system.As an educator, I've been intrigued with the idea of systems thinking, but somewhat intimidated by its complexity. After reading and rereading WHEN A BUTTERFLY SNEEZES, I have a far deeper understanding of its power. I''ve long believed in the power of story to enhance understanding. This little book affirms that belief.Thank you, Linda Booth Sweeney, for this fine work.

I have used some of the same stories described in Linda's book in training courses with environmental professionals from many countries as well as in introducing systems thinking into my own organization. There is a universal appeal to stories by Dr. Seuss, for example, and much wisdom hidden just behind the wild drawings and imaginative language. Linda's unique contribution lies in showing teachers and parents how they can use a wide range of enchanting stories to tap into this deeper meaning in order to improve problem solving abilities in everyday life. The book's recommendations on using stories can easily be applied to improving our parenting and teaching skills by listening more carefully to the stories children tell, asking better questions, and sharing responsibility with our children for interpreting the answers.

The mark of a great story is that it plants a deep seed in ones psyche that penetrates and grows slowly but oh so steadily. Like a koan, it imbeds itself and connects the limbic system with the neo-cortex, the emotions with the intellect. As one encounters the world, the story keeps resurfacing just when appropriate, deepening ones learning. Linda Booth Sweeney has found magical ways to plant seeds in kids (young and old), about critical messages of connectedness and life, and elegantly woven ways of learning that are ancient and current. Readers are in some ways left with a living question in their hearts and minds: What is life asking of me now?

"When a Butterfly Sneezes" uses stories to help introduce the basics of systems thinking. This book was written for parents and educators as a guide for helping children gain a richer and deeper understanding of the world around them through their favorite stories. This is a much needed book for parents who enjoy reading to their children and for educators, particularly those who work with students in the K-4 classroom where there is a focus on literacy. "When a Butterfly Sneezes" is a first of a kind book on this subject and at this level. It offers parents, teachers and teacher educator's a practical means for introducing systems to young minds. I will use this book in teacher education courses and recommend it highly to others.