I’m astonished at the inability of some people associated with children’s books to accept a new concept—or perhaps even open their minds to one.

I created Rusty Ruins the Fort and Other Important Things specifically to move children beyond the simplistic SEL “name the emotion” model and toward a much more important question:

What happens between feeling and acting?

The Flickerlings are not emotions. They represent the thoughts, urges, impulses, distractions, and reactions that can arise after an emotional experience and push us toward action.

That distinction is the entire point.

EVENT → EMOTION → REACTION → PAUSE → CHOICE

This is a new way of looking at what happens inside a child before behavior occurs. It isn’t supposed to fit neatly into the traditional four-emotion framework.

Sometimes a new concept requires us to stop trying to fit it into the categories we already know.

That is exactly what I am asking readers to do.

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