“I will play Jack, Cobalt will play the Mom, and you can play the giant. Say fee-fi-foo fum!”

“Cobalt and I will hide and you can seek!”

“Oh no, the red hot screamies. Can you help me count to ten and take deep breaths to calm down?”

These are just some of the requests our spirited child Rooba asks in the playable picture book series Rooba and Cobalt. Since Rooba knows he lives “in” a book, he gives the reader permission to shake it, bend it, drop it, as well as interact with him directly counting, breathing, searching or playing different characters.

Whether it’s a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, a treasure hunt or a romp through favorite colors, reading a Rooba and Cobalt book will never be a passive experience.

Every book will have a similar teachable moment: Rooba has a tantrum his Mommy has labeled the “red hot screamies.” The reader helps him count to ten, take deep breaths or imagine a safe place, and calm down. Grateful he has not been abandoned in his moment of explosive anger, the adventure resumes to its humorous conclusion. As the series continues, the reader will learn to identify triggers to a “red hot screamie” and help their little hero using skills they have learned form previous episodes. We hope this teachable moment will give children permission to feel their emotions, skills to recognize an emotion, and a toolbox of options they can employ when they encounter their own difficult moments. future books can also have Rooba experience the “wicked whines” or the “saggy sads.”

Get more information on the Rooba and Cobalt picture book series (pdf)

Inquiries contact me at Anniegwenevans@gmail.com.