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Tessie Tames Her Tongue: A Book About Learning When to Talk and When to Listen
Tessie Tames Her Tongue
36 pages, Hardcover
Published August 17, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 26, 2017
As a parent of daughter who is just like the character Tessie in this book I loved what Martin did with her. Tessie comes off really adorable, happy and obviously not a bad child. She has good parents and teaching staff around her who want to help channel that energy into something positive which I like since they aren’t trying to tear down her self-esteem.
The illustrations that accompanied her story fit perfectly and I appreciated the diversity that was woven throughout.
The big seller for me as a parent though was what came after the story. The author provided tips on how to help children in a positive manner as well as educational lessons for caregivers, teachers and kids. This is truly a wonderful book that would not only help children learn the proper time to speak up but also help the adults learn how to encourage children to have a voice but not at the detriment of others. She even broke her tips up into sections specifically for parents and educators.
When I discovered Martin is a child therapist who uses play therapy the book made complete sense. I’m a big proponent of play therapy and have used it with my daughters who are on the autism spectrum. I read this book with my daughters and it helped us to have a more focused discussion on talking and listening. I would highly encourage parents and educators to get this and put the lessons into practice.
The illustrations that accompanied her story fit perfectly and I appreciated the diversity that was woven throughout.
The big seller for me as a parent though was what came after the story. The author provided tips on how to help children in a positive manner as well as educational lessons for caregivers, teachers and kids. This is truly a wonderful book that would not only help children learn the proper time to speak up but also help the adults learn how to encourage children to have a voice but not at the detriment of others. She even broke her tips up into sections specifically for parents and educators.
When I discovered Martin is a child therapist who uses play therapy the book made complete sense. I’m a big proponent of play therapy and have used it with my daughters who are on the autism spectrum. I read this book with my daughters and it helped us to have a more focused discussion on talking and listening. I would highly encourage parents and educators to get this and put the lessons into practice.
June 8, 2017
I am sure everyone knows a child like Tessie. She has a habit of continuously talking and is a poor listener. Her teacher tries different techniques with Tessie such as a talking stick, but they don't work as well as she would like. When all her friends run away from her, Tessie asks her teacher for help. Her teacher takes her to the school counselor, who talks to Tessie and listens to what she has to say. They come up with a plan about being a good listener as well as "taming her tongue". The tongue taming tips talk about channeling her energy by deep breathing and scrunching her toes. She meets with the counselor weekly until she is successful. This is a great children's book for primary children, grade levels 1 and up. There are great tips at the end for educators and adults. The author stresses the importance of modeling good listening skills and rejecting the impulse to just quiet a talkative child. Not only would this be a good book to read to children, but parents and educators would also benefit from the story and the tips at the end of the book. A great addition to family, school, classroom and professional libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via netgalley.
June 3, 2017
A timely and helpful children's book. Tessie has a habit of continuously talking and is a poor listener. Thankfully the adults around her have patience and with the help of her teacher and counselor teach Tessie some lessons on how to cultivate good listening skills. What is great about this children's book for 2nd grade level ages 5-9 are the tips at the end for educators and adults. The author stresses the importance of modeling good listening skills and rejecting the impulse to just quiet a talkative child.
In the book we see the teacher having the patience to help Tessie not just attempt to silence her. An impressive example is presented in these pages of how to channel energy of an expressive child. This should be required reading for EVERY child education teacher.Children like Tessie too often get labeled and tracked as disruptive and not worthy of a teacher's time and effort. I will certainly recommend to all I know and I'm sure if you read it you too will do the same. This book was priced to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book publishes Sept. 1, 2017 just in time for the new school year.
In the book we see the teacher having the patience to help Tessie not just attempt to silence her. An impressive example is presented in these pages of how to channel energy of an expressive child. This should be required reading for EVERY child education teacher.Children like Tessie too often get labeled and tracked as disruptive and not worthy of a teacher's time and effort. I will certainly recommend to all I know and I'm sure if you read it you too will do the same. This book was priced to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book publishes Sept. 1, 2017 just in time for the new school year.
June 9, 2017
Oh boy, to say Tessie has run-on mouth is an understatement. She not only talks non-stop but she is loud and overbearing on top of it, wanting everyone to hear all about every little aspect of her life. Her brother has had enough, her parents are worn out trying to discipline her and her classmates are constantly running away from her incessant babble. Suddenly Tessie realizes she is not much liked and isolated so she must find a way to tame that tongue that is on fire, and wagging, all the time. How can she do it?
She seeks the help from her patient teacher, Mrs. Hardy, who refers her to the school counsellor, Mr. Abel. Together they hatch a successful plan that teaches Tessie to quiet herself, talk way less and listen way more to what other people around her have to say. There is an old saying that says, "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason." Isn't that the truth?
The back of the book features a segment entitled, "Tips for Helping Talkative Children". It is packed full of wise advice and ideas to aid you if your child is a overachiever when it comes to talking. I highly recommend this book.
She seeks the help from her patient teacher, Mrs. Hardy, who refers her to the school counsellor, Mr. Abel. Together they hatch a successful plan that teaches Tessie to quiet herself, talk way less and listen way more to what other people around her have to say. There is an old saying that says, "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason." Isn't that the truth?
The back of the book features a segment entitled, "Tips for Helping Talkative Children". It is packed full of wise advice and ideas to aid you if your child is a overachiever when it comes to talking. I highly recommend this book.
July 20, 2017
Tessie talks and talks... and talk and talks and talks. At breakfast, on the bus, at recess, during class: Tessie just has so much to say, and she loves talking! However, no one else seems to love her talking all the time. With the help of her teacher and support from her parents, Tessie sees the school counselor who helps give her strategies for listening more and talking when appropriate. Tessie uses the strategies for a few weeks, and each week it gets easier to be a better listener.
Tessie Tames Her Tongue is a great social story for the extra-social butterflies we all know and love. We all have that student (or our own child) who needs to share every single thought in their mind whether it's the right time for it or not. Tessie's strategies are easy to replicate, and I appreciate that the book shows that it does take multiple weeks for strategies to really begin working.
Tessie Tames Her Tongue is a good resource to have on hand for teachers and school counselors.
*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.
Tessie Tames Her Tongue is a great social story for the extra-social butterflies we all know and love. We all have that student (or our own child) who needs to share every single thought in their mind whether it's the right time for it or not. Tessie's strategies are easy to replicate, and I appreciate that the book shows that it does take multiple weeks for strategies to really begin working.
Tessie Tames Her Tongue is a good resource to have on hand for teachers and school counselors.
*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.
May 29, 2017
This book may be the catalyst needed for a great discussion on what it means to be a good listener. Using this as a read aloud, I can see pausing at the point before Tessie speaks to her teacher and asking students to brainstorm about the problem and possible solutions. Then pick up the story to see what Tessie's solution was. Using the story as a read aloud might be a gentle way of solving some non-stop talking issues without pointing fingers. For students who might not recognize themselves in Tessie's story, perhaps a quiet, private conversation and read can lead to a plan of action for taming their own tongues.
Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.
Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.
May 31, 2017
Tessie may need to tame her tongue, but the author needs to tame their pen. This book started out fun, but quickly got bogged down, long, and boring. It's a book on learning when to talk and when to listen, and how to be a good listener. But it spends so much time trying to make a point, or giving practical examples, that the mind has wandered away from the concept. I like the tips at the back of the book, and I think the story could be presented in a less “talkative” way. Too Long, too wordy. The illustrations are great, and it has a biracial family for those looking for more representation in children’s books.
February 20, 2021
Tessie loves to talk, but sometimes she talks too much. With a little help, she learns how to tame her tongue. This was an educational picture book that helps talkative children learn how to use active listening skills. I enjoyed the art and felt Tessie had a lot of very interesting things to say, she just needed to learn when it was appropriate to share them.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
February 16, 2024
Tessie cannot understand why everyone in her family and class get irritated when she talks. She just likes to talk afterall. It really is not that big of a deal. The problem is Tessie does not understand that sometimes she needs listen rather than talk. Tessie and her guidance counselor, Mr Abel devise a plan for Tessie to learn how to listen. By the end of the book Tessie is able to help another student who cannot seem to stop talking long enough to listen to others.
June 26, 2017
The school counselor helps Tessie learn to curve her loquaciousness. It is a little unrealistic that a school counselor would devote time to a "talking too much" issue. It is even more unrealistic that the child would embrace the lessons and eliminate her problem in only a month.
November 15, 2017
I loved the illustrations and the story itself. My only complaint is that sometimes, there was too much text on one page. However, I think Tessie Tames Her Tongue will help a lot of talkative children!
June 28, 2017
Positive messages talking too much.
Want to read
April 20, 2021Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
October 16, 2017
I enjoyed this book. I think it will come in handy with my loquacious child.
December 5, 2017
We all know and love a kid (or even adult) with a gushing river of things to say but how to we get a word in edgewise or engage the vital lesson of also being a listener? As a parent, educator and bookseller, I have yearned for this exact book. Told with pedagogical humor and wisdom, Tessie discovers she has wonderful things to share alongside tools to tame her tongue!
January 8, 2018
Tessie sure is a talker. But the counselor at school helps her learn some strategies for taming her tongue. Would have liked a little more support from the other adults in her life, as well as maybe some ways she learned to look for non-verbal cues that she was talking too much.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews