Josie Girl and Blueberry Blue

When Josie’s visit to the park includes an unexpected surprise, her imagination takes flight, and she creates a playground adventure for herself and a new friend, Blueberry Blue. Through imagination and exploration, the two friends are at the height of their wondrous day together when something happens, and Josie is faced with new feelings and difficult choices.

A story about the depth and range of children’s feelings and the role loving adults play in children’s emotional journeys, Josie Girl and Blueberry Blue is a tender story of adventure in which a child’s feelings of anticipation, joy, sadness, anger, frustration, and envy are recognized and supported in order to make way for the possibility for new emotional experiences, including empathy, resilience, and hope.

About the Author

Amy Howell, Ph.D. holds a doctorate in education psychology from the University of Colorado and has taught in higher education for over twenty years. Howell presents on a wide range of topics in early learning, including family engagement, early literacy practices, the critical role of play in children’s learning and development, early STEM, and social justice in the early years. As a professor of early childhood education, Howell believes that all meaningful learning begins in supportive and nurturing relationships that honor children’s wonder and wisdom. When she’s not teaching, she loves time with her family, exploring the natural world by sailboat, and reading children’s literature.