The Fairview Review: Virtual Book Tour Ralphy's Rules for Feelings

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Written by Talar Hercuilian Coursey and Riley Herculian Coursey

Illustrated by Meri Andreasyan

Ages 4+ | 36 Pages

Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press (2024) | ISBN-13: 9781955119450

Publisher’s Book Summary: We have big feelings!

Sometimes we don’t know what to do with them or how to change our thoughts that cause these feelings. The first day of school can be scary, but “Furrapist” Jackson Johnson and cute pup Ralphy of Ralphy’s Rules for the Good Life are committed to helping a busload of kids understand and manage their big feelings. During the ride to school, Furrapist Jackson Johnson teaches the children that they can choose their emotions and decide how to respond to them. Ralphy and Jackson make the complicated subject of emotional intelligence accessible for kids to understand and, more importantly, implement in their everyday lives.

So hop on the bus with us, and let’s learn about how taking charge of our feelings can change our day!

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MY REVIEW

Readers may have met Ralphy before in his book, Ralphy's Rules for Living the Good Life, in which he helps out a very cranky squirrel named Joey. If not, then they will have the fun of meeting Ralphy as he drives the bus on the first day of school. Many children have first day jitters, but Ralphy and his “furrapist” friend Jackson Johnson make sure that the kids on their bus have the tools to have a happy and successful day. Brightly colored illustrations show a cheerful yellow bus with the two furry companions and their passengers. The boys and girls on the bus have a range of skin tones and hair colors, and they each come aboard with their own emoji to show the emotion they are dealing with. As anyone might expect, the first day of school has them feeling nervous, sad, scared, tired, embarrassed, and excited. Jackson Johnson explains to them, “You get to decide whether you want to keep feeling the feelings you brought on the bus or if you want to feel something else.” As each child works through the steps suggested by the furrapist, readers will learn skills to help deal with their own feelings. Parents and teachers can use this book to help youngsters practice visualizing positive thoughts to help them overcome negative emotions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Talar Herculian Coursey is a lawyer by day and a children’s book author, Life Coach, and philanthropist by night (more like mornings). She has been a General Counsel since 2011 and recently joined ComplyAuto, a privacy/cybersecurity SAAS company. Before going in-house, she was a file clerk, associate, and partner at the national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips LLP. Talar is a co-author of both #Networked: How 20 Women Lawyers Overcame the Confines of COVID-19 Social Distancing to Create Connections, Cultivate Community, & Build Businesses in the Midst of a Global Pandemic and Women In Law: Discovering the True Meaning of Success. Her first children’s book, Ralphy’s Rules for Living the Good Life, was published in 2021.

Talar has served as the President of the Salt Lake City Chapter of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (“SOAR”) since 2015. SOAR, founded in 2005, supports orphanages in Syria, Lebanon and Armenia. She runs the Salt Lake City Half Marathon every year to raise money for SOAR in memory of her father. Net proceeds from her children’s books also go to SOAR. In addition to being a mother, wife, lawyer, life coach, and philanthropist, she is also a runner, yogi, and Jesus, Eckhart Tolle, Peloton, and Brandon Flowers groupie.

For more information, visit talaresq.com.

Illustrator Meri Andreasyan