May is Mental Health Awareness Month! For young children, reading a book and discussing the story can create the opportunity to talk about mental health and empathy for others.

 

In The Weeping Wombat—a Nocturnals early reader book by Tracey Hecht—the characters teach us that to properly understand mental health, it’s important to practice empathy. In the book, the animals listen to their new friend Walter the Wombat as he shares his feelings with them. They show Walter that it’s okay to cry and express yourself, and that weeping is just another way to show how we feel.

 

Below are some questions and prompts based on the story to help start conversations with young children about understanding their emotions.

 

You can find these discussion questions and more educational materials for The Nocturnals on our website.