Aurora Gonzalez

Every child needs to know that their emotions are valid and that they are loved through all off the range of their emotions. Learning to deal with the emotions and understand them helps guide children to be more in tune with their own needs and to be empathetic to the needs of others. Claudia Macias is a passionate educator, who feels every child deserves to be listened to and that their emotions should be validated.

An educator in the midst of the Hurricane Harvey storms in Houston raised her hands in prayer. She prayed for a way to help her students heal in the aftermath of the storm. As soon as she finished praying, she was drawn to her sketch book. By the end of that storm ravaged week, she had rough sketched, written and translated a story to share with her students. These students loved its message of hope and healing so much that they pushed her to have it published. The story that started as an answer to a prayer has now become a book with incredible illustrations and English/Spanish versions of the text.Harvey Bear was named #1 new release in the genre of Children’s disaster preparedness! The main character happens to be a teddy bear who adores new crayons. He runs his own social media and web page so parents, students, and teachers can contact him.

I read this AMAZING story to my students in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. They felt so empathetic to the fact that the little Hurricane started spinning. They collectively said, "Oopsie, teacher, she did't mean it" It really helped them understand that just like Harriet, Hurricane Harvey didn't specifically target them, their family, community for destruction. Harriet is just a loveable character with a great child friendly explanation. 5 Star rating from my students and a valuable addition to your library!