Abstract

Many children in the United States struggle with mental health issues. The increase in mental health difficulties for children and adolescents has increased so greatly after the COVID19 pandemic that it has been declared a national mental health emergency by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association (AAP et al., 2021). The burden to provide children with socialemotional learning, opportunities, access, and support often falls on teachers, and this burden can be particularly acute in rural communities, stemming from the limited availability of resources. Using picturebooks through means such as developmental bibliotherapy is one way for educators to address the increasing need to care for children’s social and emotional wellness in schools. This self-study explored my lived experience reading and connecting with award-winning Mo Willems picturebooks for emotional literacy content and considering the possibility of using them in interactive read-aloud sessions. Analyses revealed four overarching themes: (a) my personal journey, (b) discovering emotions in characters, (c) the importance of relationships, and (d) nurturing and recognizing positivity. These findings highlight important implications for supporting young children’s emotional literacy through interactive read-alouds, emphasizing the idea that teaching is a personal act, the potential for interactive read-alouds to provide hope or positivity, and the opportunities afforded to foster meaningful interactions with text through developmental bibliotherapy. This study may inform future work regarding teaching and supporting social-emotional learning concepts for young children, specifically applying insights related to pedagogy, teacher perspective, and student learning.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Teacher Education

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/