Zach Gets Frustrated

by William Mulcahy, Darren McKee (Illustrator)

Overview

Zach and his family go to the beach, but Zach is having a lousy day. First, he dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. Then his best friend went to someone else’s birthday party instead of joining him. But most frustrating of all, he can’t get his kite to fly! Zach kicks sand, yells angry words, and asks his dad if they can just go home.
 
Instead, his dad teaches him a simple, three-step approach to dealing with frustration so he can find a way to enjoy himself even when things aren’t going his way:

1. Name it (why are you frustrated?)
2. Tame it (self-regulation exercises such as deep breathing or visualization)
3. Reframe it (change your thoughts to change your feelings).

Zach Gets Frustrated teaches children social skills they will easily understand and remember when dealing with frustration. The three-point strategy is presented as the three corners of a triangle and is illustrated using the corners of Zach’s kite.

Zach Rules Series
Zach struggles with social issues like getting along, handling frustrations, making mistakes, and other everyday problems typical of young kids. Each book in the Zach Rules series presents a single, simple storyline involving one such problem. As each story develops, Zach and readers learn straightforward tools for coping with their struggles and building stronger relationships now and in the future.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575423906
Publisher:	Free Spirit Publishing
Publication date:	04/02/2012
Series:	Zach Rules Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	425,651
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.31(d)
Lexile:	AD580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

William “Bill” Mulcahy, MS, LPC, LMHC, NCC, is a licensed professional counselor, psychotherapist, author and of books and tools for teaching children to cope with the challenges of life in the 21st century.

Bill has served as a supervisor at Family Services of Waukesha, WI, as a counselor at Stillwaters Cancer Support Services, at Empathia Inc., as an employee assistance professional, and has worked with children with special needs. He has been in private practice since 2016.

He is also the father of seven children including two children on the autism spectrum and lives in Venice, Florida with his wife, Melissa.

Editorial Reviews

William Mulcahy’s Zach Gets Frustrated offers great tips and tools for coping with and overcoming frustration. I wish I had this when I was a kid!

Trudy Ludwig

Zach does rule—these books are fun! They make important life skills easy to understand and do, and kids will get such a kick out of Zach, they won’t even know they’re learning.

Dr. Michele Borba

The Zach Rules series does an impressive job covering the issues of anger and frustration—and the consequences that come with acting on them—in child-friendly terms. These books are a must-read for parents, educators, grandparents, and anyone who cares about helping young people become responsible, resilient, and compassionate human beings. I highly recommend this series.

Barbara Coloroso

Not only do the [Zach Rules] books discuss problems most youngsters have, they also give concrete strategies for solving them.

From the Publisher

Not only do the [Zach Rules] books discuss problems most youngsters have, they also give concrete strategies for solving them.

Growing Book by Book

This is such a helpful resource to the students in my school. So many kids don’t know what to do with their frustration and oftentimes this leads to a negative behavior choice. Zach Gets Frustrated teaches children frustration doesn’t need to ruin their day and it can even be channeled into something positive if they take the time to understand it. The frustration triangle technique is a new discovery for me and it’s definitely going to have an impact.

Roxanne Davidson

A handy resource for any parent who has a child that gets frustrated easily.

Lori Calabrese

PreS-Gr 2—Mulcahy introduces strategies to help young children develop relationship skills and learn responsibility for their actions when dealing with everyday situations. In the first book, Zach gets angry and pushes his little brother for playing with his toys. His mother sends him off to cool down and then discusses how he might handle the situation in the future. She explains the four-square apology method and together they work through the problem. Zach apologizes, and he and his brother go out to play together. In Frustrated, everything Zach tries to do goes wrong, even flying his kite. His father helps him remember the three steps to follow to deal with frustration: name it; tame it; reframe it. When Zach uses this method, he realizes that he can handle challenges in a healthy way, and then he can move on and have a better day. Both books combine facts in fictional style. Parents model compassion and understanding while explaining the strategies, which are illustrated with diagrams. Notes for adults to reinforce the concepts and practice the skills are included. Humorous cartoons also reinforce the messages and actions and reflect the mood of the stories. Both titles are suitable for classroom sharing or independent reading and should complement early childhood curriculums.—Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA

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