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Is The Wild Within Right for My Family?
What Makes The Wild Within Different from Other Social-Emotional Books?
The Wild Within isn’t just another book about emotions — it’s a complete emotional learning system created by a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in emotional regulation, sensory processing, and child development.
Most children’s books teach emotional awareness in isolation. The Wild Within was designed to follow the correct developmental hierarchy of emotional regulation — the way children actually learn these skills in real life.
Each book builds on the one before it:
Book One begins with emotional identification — helping children notice, name, and understand what they feel.
Later books introduce body awareness, sensory processing, coping strategies, self-advocacy, and repair after conflict.
This structure mirrors how the brain develops emotional intelligence — from noticing → naming → regulating → reconnecting.
Every story also comes with a Growing Together Guide, a companion for parents and caregivers that translates the neuroscience and therapeutic principles behind each book into simple, actionable steps you can use at home.
The result? A story that doesn’t just teach emotional concepts — it builds real, lasting emotional skills grounded in research and connection.
How does this series help my child manage big feelings?
When children name what they feel, something powerful happens inside the brain.
Research shows that when we identify an emotion — “I feel mad,” “I feel nervous,” — activity in the amygdala (the brain’s emotional alarm system) begins to decrease, while the prefrontal cortex (the thinking and problem-solving part of the brain) starts to activate.
This process, known as affect labeling, literally helps the brain move from reactivity to regulation (Lieberman et al., 2007).
In The Wild Within series, children learn to do exactly that — to pause, notice, and name what they’re feeling. Through rhythmic storytelling, sensory cues, and familiar characters like Benny the Bear (Mad) and Grace the Giraffe (Calm), kids learn that emotions show up in their bodies first — a tight chest, warm face, fast heart — and that naming these sensations helps calm them.
Each story gives children simple, body-based strategies — like deep breathing, grounding, or movement — that pair with emotional awareness.
This mirrors how regulation is built in real life: first we notice, then we name, then we nurture.
Over time, these small moments create a foundation of emotional resilience — helping your child manage frustration, transitions, and disappointment with confidence and self-understanding.
Is this book just for kids, or can parents and teachers use it too?
The Wild Within was made to be shared.
It’s written for children, but designed for parents, teachers, and therapists to use together with them.
Each story opens the door for meaningful conversation and co-regulation — helping adults guide kids through emotions without shame or dismissal.
Whether you read it at bedtime, in the classroom, or during therapy sessions, the story becomes a shared language for connection.
What age range is this series best for?
The Wild Within series was created for children ages 3 to 8, which is a key developmental window when emotional awareness, language, and brain-body connection are rapidly forming.
That said, the series was designed by a pediatric occupational therapist to be easily adapted — meaning it can be used with younger toddlers or older children, depending on how you present it.
For younger kids, focus on sensory experiences and simple naming (“This is Mad. Mad makes your face feel hot.”).
For older kids, deepen the conversation — explore body cues, coping strategies, and reflections (“When have you felt like Benny? What helped you calm down?”).
Because emotions are universal, these books grow with your child. Whether you’re introducing feeling words for the first time or helping an older child connect thoughts, sensations, and choices, The Wild Within provides a shared language for emotional growth at every stage.
What does it mean that it’s “therapist-created”?
Every book in The Wild Within series was written by Hannah Pfeifer, a pediatric occupational therapist specializing in emotional regulation, trauma-informed care, and child development.
That means every story is rooted in evidence-based practices — including co-regulation, sensory processing, and neuroscience research on how the brain calms after stress.
The language, pacing, and strategies are intentionally designed to support emotional literacy, body awareness, and self-regulation — while still feeling gentle, imaginative, and full of heart.