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Simon Steps Into the Ring
Simon tries to be kind. But sometimes he loses his temper and acts without thinking, which almost always gets him into trouble. As Simon begins to understand his outbursts, he imagines himself in a boxing ring with his emotions. Can he come out on top and learn how to acknowledge his feelings?
32 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 20, 2019
This is a story about emotional regulation. I'm not sure if the translation is just clumsy, but it doesn't really seem like a book for children; at times, the vocabulary is pretty advanced, especially given the simplistic way the main character is urged to deal with his feelings.
Simon gets in trouble at school. He imagines he has lots of little Simons inside of him, each fighting the other for supremacy. His uncle tells him that they're all important, but that they each have their place. What Simon really needs is a referee.
I'm not a fan of framing the whole emotional struggle with a violent metaphor. All of Simon's emotional states are represented by little boxers... but this doesn't make a lot of sense for some of the calmer, kinder Simons. I'm also a bit put off by encouraging kids to segment their personalities like this; the discussion at the end tells kids to think about their own little versions of themselves. Is it healthy to dissociate like this? Or even blame bad behaviour on some personified aspect of the personality? I'm not a psychological expert, but this just doesn't sit quite right with me.
I thought the illustrations looked familiar, and I realized I'd seen Marion Arbona's work before in Sam's Pet Temper by Sangeeta Bhadra. That's actually a much better look at emotional regulation in kids, and I think I would probably recommend that book over this one for this particular topic.
Overall, this didn't quite work for me. I don't know if all kids are going to be able to imagine all these separate aspects of themselves, and I'm not even sure if they should. Even if they do, I think some are going to struggle with assigning the pugilistic characteristics of a boxer to aspects of the personality like "Perfect Brother", "Good Student", and "Joyous".
Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing a digital ARC.
Simon gets in trouble at school. He imagines he has lots of little Simons inside of him, each fighting the other for supremacy. His uncle tells him that they're all important, but that they each have their place. What Simon really needs is a referee.
I'm not a fan of framing the whole emotional struggle with a violent metaphor. All of Simon's emotional states are represented by little boxers... but this doesn't make a lot of sense for some of the calmer, kinder Simons. I'm also a bit put off by encouraging kids to segment their personalities like this; the discussion at the end tells kids to think about their own little versions of themselves. Is it healthy to dissociate like this? Or even blame bad behaviour on some personified aspect of the personality? I'm not a psychological expert, but this just doesn't sit quite right with me.
I thought the illustrations looked familiar, and I realized I'd seen Marion Arbona's work before in Sam's Pet Temper by Sangeeta Bhadra. That's actually a much better look at emotional regulation in kids, and I think I would probably recommend that book over this one for this particular topic.
Overall, this didn't quite work for me. I don't know if all kids are going to be able to imagine all these separate aspects of themselves, and I'm not even sure if they should. Even if they do, I think some are going to struggle with assigning the pugilistic characteristics of a boxer to aspects of the personality like "Perfect Brother", "Good Student", and "Joyous".
Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing a digital ARC.
November 5, 2019
Helping children live with their emotion and different aspect of their personality. Good visual presentation, easily understandable for kids and learning to deal with those emotion and change of mood/character is an important thing for those young ones. Well done, useful and well illustrated! Might feel a bit repetitive in some pages, that' why I withdrew a star, but still a good pick!
July 29, 2020
What an amazing book. Perfect for SEL curriculum. Deftly deals with all the emotions and different sides of our personalities. Includes exercises and activities that can be used by teachers and social workers.
May 31, 2021
My 8 year old son brought me this book and asked if we could read it together because it could explain exactly what he was feeling. He identified with the many Simons and the struggle to overcome big emotions.
October 23, 2020
An elementary and up book about emotions and all the ones a certain boy feels throughout a day.
December 31, 2020
Cute book!
April 27, 2021
Illustrations help to show how in one day a person can experience so many different emotions. How we referee our self determines our reactions to each situation. A good book for SEL.
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September 1, 2021I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was okay. The pictures were appealing and the story made sense. It just didn't end up a favorite for me.
This book was okay. The pictures were appealing and the story made sense. It just didn't end up a favorite for me.
November 21, 2019
This story is about Simon and all of his emotions he displays to the world. It's a wide range of positive and negative feelings. I felt like this story was a little to advanced for children, depending on what age they are. It also felt like it was jumping to different scenes and didn't have a smooth transition before the next set up.
What I liked:
-The illustration was amazing.
-Stating what feeling Simon was in.
-The last page
What I liked:
-The illustration was amazing.
-Stating what feeling Simon was in.
-The last page
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews