Customer Reviews

Hurty Feelings

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the story of Fragility, a hippopotamus who, despite her large size, was very fragile emotionally. Even when someone complimented her she managed to reframe it into an insult and was hurt again. So what happens when she is responsible for protecting the goal in the soccer match and the bully of an elephant decides to insult her? You'll have to read the book to get the answer. "Hurty Feelings" is a fun read for children with well-drawn illustrations that are both detailed and humorous, and an excellent message, which makes it a highly recommended read.

Fragility is a hippo who is very insecure. Her friends give her nice compliment but she always takes them as insults. Fragility cries all the time and her friends start to avoid her. Things change for Fragility one day when she decides to stand up to the neighborhood bully Rudy the elephant. Find out how Fragility turns her life around and learns some important like lessons.

What did you like or not like about the book?

We felt that the book could be used to start various discussions on feelings. Also the topic of bullies could be brought up as well after reading this cute picture book.

Yes. The cover shows a big hippo crying and using up boxes full of tissues.

Itdraws you in and makes you want to read to book to see what is wrong with her.

We recently checked this book out of the library. I was not familiar with Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, but my 5 year old (and I) loved this book on the first read. The illustrations are delightful. The best part is the wonderful drama that can be injected while reading. My daughter loves all the great weeping and wailing that Fragility performs (she is a bit of a drama queen, eh?). Not only is it fun to read, it also has wonderful life lessons, such as: learning to like yourself, accepting compliments graciously, and even dealing with bullies (Rudy the bully ends up in a weeping pile himself, and he actually learns some lessons too).

I'm here today to purchase this book and any other Lester/Munsinger books I can find.

I love all of Helen Lester's books so had high expectations for this one and it certainly didn't disappoint. I'm a pre-k teacher and expected to use this to teach how words can hurt just as much as physically hurting someone. Believe it or not, bullying and teasing starts very, very early and it's something I wanted to squash early on in my class. It helped tremendously to get my little ones to understand that, but I loved that the book allowed me to lead into several other lessons as well.

-Bullying: Fragility the hippo takes everyone's compliments as insults, until she meets Rudy the elephant who really is very rude and insulting. Rudy knows how fragile Fragility is and uses it to hurt her feelings just because he feels like it. Good for discussing what bullying is and why someone might bully another person

-Whining: As anyone who has or has had a preschooler knows, they're just starting to learn how effective whining can be at getting their way or getting attention. Just before Rudy the bully shows up, Fragility is incredibly lonely because nobody wants to upset her and they're exhausted by her meltdowns. My kids LOOOVED the repetition (and exaggerated voice it lends well to) of "You hurt my feeeeeelings!" and helped them see how silly the whining is as opposed to just talking, just as Fragility learned at the end of the story.

-Two wrongs don't make a right: After several insults from Rudy, Fragility finally manages to throw his insults back at him. Far from helping the situation, this instead leads to two very sad, very hurt individuals. Helpful for teaching standing up for one's self instead of stooping down to a bully's level and making positive choices, even when someone else isn't being nice to you.

-Forgiveness and making mistakes: When Fragility sees how hurt Rudy is when she teases him back, she understands that all Rudy really needs is a friend. She "mommies" him, wiping away his tears and hugging him until he feels better. Long before reading this book, I'd used this technique in my class (the "hurter" taking care of the "hurtee" so he or she can see the effects of his or her actions) with great success. It really struck a cord with my students and helped them understand that even if you make a bad choice, you can still fix it.

On top of all this, much like Lester's other books, Hurty Feelings is just plain funny, well written, and fun to read, from the character's names to Fragility's dramatic outbursts to the hilarious accompanying illustrations. Like I said, it lends well to silly and exaggerated voices, which only adds to the great story. Other favorites of mine include Hooway for Wodney Wat and A Porcupine Named Fluffy.

This book is not one of our favorites. It is not up to the level of A Porcupine Named Fluffy, Listen Buddy and Me First. Those are some of our favorite books by this author. They are humorous as well as teaching a nice lesson to your preschoolers.

The corners of my granddaughter's mouth curl up as I cry out Fragility's words, "You hurt my feeeeelings!" Fragility is so fragile that even compliments hurt her feelings. My granddaughter questions why compliments hurt Fragility's feelings - shouldn't she say thank you? Her face lights up when Rudy the rude elephant enters the story. And she waits in anticipation as Fragility works to overcome her weepy, hurty feelings and stand up to Rudy's rudeness.

Helen Lester has created a wonderful story for children who are learning about manners, emotions, and bullies. In addition to the lessons already mentioned in other reviews, "Hurty Feelings" offers the lessons of empathy, compassion, and kindness. Lynn Munsinger's amusing illustrations give the animal characters enough human-like features to accentuate the emotion and action behind Lester's text. When Fragility's imagination turns compliments into insults, Munsinger enhances these moments with humorous illustrations. This is a perfect book for one-on-one reading or in a group or classroom environment.

Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa

If you liked "Hooway for Wodney", you will love "Hurty Feelings". Same author, same illustrator. Love all of her books for the great messages they communicate about bullying, selfishness, bossiness and hurt feelings. Read these books early and often to get the message into their young psyches early.

I find that my 4 year old granddaughter really responds well to Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, as do I. Which made this a perfect one for talking about the feelings of her 2 year old brother.

Everything by Helen Lester is a pleasure to read to children, and have children read to you. The illustrations are always delightful as well.