Zach Gets Frustrated

by Darren McKee (Illustrator)

Overview

Zach and his family go to the beach, but Zach is having a lousy day. First, he dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. Then his best friend went to someone else’s birthday party instead of joining him. But most frustrating of all, he can’t get his kite to fly! Zach kicks sand, yells angry words, and asks his dad if they can just go home now. Instead, his dad teaches him a simple, three-step approach to get a handle on frustration and find a way to enjoy himself even when things aren’t going his way: 1) name it (why are you frustrated?); 2) tame it (self-regulation exercises such as deep breathing or visualization); 3) reframe it (change your thoughts to change your feelings). The three-point strategy is presented as the three corners of a triangle and is illustrated as the corners of Zach’s kite. Easy to understand and easy to remember.

Zach Rules Series

Zach, his brothers Alex and Scott, and his parents are a typical family. The boys struggle with getting along, frustrations, social issues, and other everyday problems typical with kids ages 5 to 8. Each book in the Zach Rules series presents a single, simple storyline involving one such problem. The stories are humorous and realistic (these boys are not angels), and Darren McKee’s illustrations add a lighthearted, commercial appeal that kids will find familiar and fun. As each story develops, Zach and readers learn straightforward tools for coping with their struggles and growing up healthier—healthier because children who know these skills have the potential for building stronger relationships now and in the future. The tools are presented graphically to make them easier to understand and remember. Kids will enjoy the familiar, funny stories and easily grasp the important life skills. Each book concludes with a short note to adults to help parents, teachers, counselors, and other grown-ups reinforce the books’ messages and practice the skills with their kids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575423906
Publisher:	Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Publication date:	04/02/2012
Series:	Zach Rules Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	183,460
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.37(d)
Lexile:	AD580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

William Mulcahy is a licensed professional counselor, psychotherapist, and supervisor of the Cooperative Parenting Center at Family Service in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Previously he has served as a counselor at Stillwaters Cancer Support Services in Wisconsin, specializing in grief and cancer-related issues, and worked with children with special needs. Bill's short stories have appeared in serveral publications. The Zach Rules series books are his first books for children, merging his passions for good storytelling and providing counseling-like tools to help children live healthier, happier lives. Bill lives in Summit, Wisconsin, with his three sons who played their own role in the creation of the Zach Rules series.

Darren McKee has illustrated books for many publishers over his twenty-year career. When not working, he spends his time riding his bike, reading, drawing, and traveling. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Debbie.

Editorial Reviews

“William Mulcahy’s Zach Gets Frustrated offers great tips and tools for coping with and overcoming frustration. I wish I had this when I was a kid!”—Trudy Ludwig, best-selling author of Better Than You

“Zach does rule—these books are fun! They make important life skills easy to understand and do, and kids will get such a kick out of Zach, they won’t even know they’re learning.”—Dr. Michele Borba, parenting expert and author of No More Misbehavin’ and The Big Book of Parenting Solutions

“The Zach Rules series does an impressive job covering the issues of anger and frustration—and the consequences that come with acting on them—in child-friendly terms. These books are a must-read for parents, educators, grandparents, and anyone who cares about helping young people become responsible, resilient, and compassionate human beings. I highly recommend this series.”—Barbara Coloroso, best-selling author of Kids Are Worth It! Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline

“Zach’s feelings are widely recognizable and will be familiar to readers. McKee’s brightly colored digital illustrations . . . do a good job of supporting the text and helping to teach the material. This new series is a useful tool for teaching valuable skills.”—Kirkus

Mulcahy introduces strategies to help young children develop relationship skills and learn responsibility for their actions when dealing with everyday situations. In the first book, Zach gets angry and pushes his little brother for playing with his toys. His mother sends him off to cool down and then discusses how he might handle the situation in the future. She explains the four-square apology method and together they work through the problem. Zach apologizes, and he and his brother go out to play together. In Frustrated, everything Zach tries to do goes wrong, even flying his kite. His father helps him remember the three steps to follow to deal with frustration: name it; tame it; reframe it. When Zach uses this method, he realizes that he can handle challenges in a healthy way, and then he can move on and have a better day. Both books combine facts in fictional style. Parents model compassion and understanding while explaining the strategies, which are illustrated with diagrams. Notes for adults to reinforce the concepts and practice the skills are included. Humorous cartoons also reinforce the messages and actions and reflect the mood of the stories. Both titles are suitable for classroom sharing or independent reading and should complement early childhood curriculums.—School Library Journal

“Not only do the [Zach Rules] books discuss problems most youngsters have, they also give concrete strategies for solving them.”—Growing Book by Book

“A handy resource for any parent who has a child that gets frustrated easily.”—Lori Calabrese, children’s book reviewer

“This is such a helpful resource to the students in my school. So many kids don’t know what to do with their frustration and oftentimes this leads to a negative behavior choice. Zach Gets Frustrated teaches children frustration doesn’t need to ruin their day and it can even be channeled into something positive if they take the time to understand it. The frustration triangle technique is a new discovery for me and it’s definitely going to have an impact.”—Roxanne Davidson, M.Ed., school counselor, Books That Heal Kids blog

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2—Mulcahy introduces strategies to help young children develop relationship skills and learn responsibility for their actions when dealing with everyday situations. In the first book, Zach gets angry and pushes his little brother for playing with his toys. His mother sends him off to cool down and then discusses how he might handle the situation in the future. She explains the four-square apology method and together they work through the problem. Zach apologizes, and he and his brother go out to play together. In Frustrated, everything Zach tries to do goes wrong, even flying his kite. His father helps him remember the three steps to follow to deal with frustration: name it; tame it; reframe it. When Zach uses this method, he realizes that he can handle challenges in a healthy way, and then he can move on and have a better day. Both books combine facts in fictional style. Parents model compassion and understanding while explaining the strategies, which are illustrated with diagrams. Notes for adults to reinforce the concepts and practice the skills are included. Humorous cartoons also reinforce the messages and actions and reflect the mood of the stories. Both titles are suitable for classroom sharing or independent reading and should complement early childhood curriculums.—Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA

School Library Journal