“Giraffes can’t dance you silly fool, oh Gerald you’re so weird.” I literally have this book memorized. I could recite it in my sleep – no joke. Not only because I use it all the dang time in my therapy sessions, but my son also happens to love it too! AND what’s not to like – an underdog truly coming into his own to become the BEST dancer anyone in the jungle has ever seen! Ok, let me back up a minute. You all know how much I love bibliotherapy, and if you haven’t read Giraffes Can’t Dance scoot yourself to the nearest bookstore, pop it in your Amazon cart, or to be honest you can see it right now on youtube! In this book, Gerald the giraffe learns that animals in the jungle can be unkind and downright mean, but with the help of a cricket, confident thinking, and his own special song he can do anything he puts his mind to - including dance! This book has it all – self-esteem, bullying, growth mindset, self-talk, connection and support. It is also ah-mazing for Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy. There are so many opportunities to go through the cognitive triangle and connect thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is also filled with regulation skills and highlights Gerald’s self-talk. You can clearly see the pattern when Gerald makes statements that he is “such a clot” and how they connect with him feeling sad, giving up, and going home. Giraffes Can’t Dance also highlights the importance of helpers – a small cricket steps in and serves Gerald some serious wisdom allowing him to find his rhythm and a song that is just for him. You can see the shift in Gerald’s mood as he exclaims “I AM DANCING”! He is also incredibly gracious and doesn’t even dish out as much as an “I told you so” to any of the jungle animals – he just finishes with a bow. Gerald is one class act. My favorite companion activities for this book include a “Find Your Song” activity. You have young people identify a song that is just for them – the music they move through life to. You can play the song in session, notice what feelings and thoughts come up, or have them focus on a specific powerful self-statement. This book is also a great tool for EMDR as it helps identify feelings, thoughts, and cognitions. You can get curious about where Gerald may feel sensations in his body and what pictures may be going through his head as well as giving Gerald a Subjective Units of Distress rating. This primes young people to head into phase 3 of EMDR desensitization and reprocessing and gives them language and examples when asking about TICES. You can also use the “Find Your Song” activity if you are trained in EMDR with slow bilateral stimulation for the development of a resource. I have also developed a worksheet pack that I use with young people including a Giraffes CAN Dance growth mindset worksheet that helps young people evaluate things they thought they couldn’t do but actually could as well as things they can’t do YET! For young people who feel isolated or alone you can grab the “Who Are Your Crickets” worksheet to help them identify their community and team. I have also used this for big transitions in life such as from elementary school to middle school or out of intensive outpatient treatment into a less restrictive setting. The last worksheet in the packet, "Who Are You A Cricket To" can be used for social skills. You can help young people identify how they show up for others and encourage others. You can grab your free downloadable worksheet pack HERE! This is such an amazing book that I have used it different ways and different times with the same client. Maybe one time to talk about confidence and finding a client’s song and again for a transition time when she needed to get clear about who was on her team. I know this book is so dynamic – drop a comment with other ways you have used this book in your practice! PS - why YES that is a giant piece of tape on my book! This is one of the original books I purchased as a play therapist with a tiny budget. It came from a little website called half.com where I was used to buying some of my college text books. This copy is from the New York Library! Interested in learning more about how to use Bibliotherapy in your Play Therapy Practice? Check out this training HERE! Let's Connect - click here to join my email list! *This post contains affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through the links on this site. The best news? It doesn’t cost you a penny! Thanks for supporting The Playful Therapist Blog by shopping my favorite playroom gear and accessories!
10 Comments
Kathy Morrison
3/21/2020 05:32:28 pm
I am new to telehealth and really found some of your activities helpful in taking out the fear of doing the same thing in new and challenging ways
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Ashlee
3/22/2020 11:57:42 am
Thank you so much for your resources, creativity, insight, and experience. You are invaluable!
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shelby
4/16/2020 10:28:51 am
Thank you for this wonderful guide. I am a skills specialist with kinders and this is going to be such a helpful resource to guide skills sessions related to growth mindset and change. I am going to be using the online video version through vooks.com! Our school has a subscription, but it may be something for others to look into as well!
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Ann Meehan
5/6/2020 11:17:21 am
Shelby this sounds awesome! Thanks for the resource!
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Desnes
5/19/2020 01:04:29 pm
Thank you so much ! I have been reading this book to my son and now I am able to use it in Play Therapy with my clients.
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Irene
6/17/2020 10:52:55 am
I am new to telehealth and so thankful for the resources you share! SO appreciating the insightful information...you have helped me feel more comfortable in venturing this new approach for me.
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Ann Meehan
6/17/2020 12:43:38 pm
Thanks Irene!! It is definitely a different world so I am glad you are feeling more comfortable!
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Stacey
8/20/2020 02:17:15 pm
I believe at one time you had a list of bibliotherapy books of a whole bunch just listed I saved it to my phone but it looks like it was a Google doc and now I cannot open it did you maybe take that down or can you help me find that list again please
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