About the Author

William Mulcahy is a licensed professional counselor, psychotherapist, and supervisor of the Cooperative Parenting Center at Family Service in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Previously he has served as a counselor at Stillwaters Cancer Support Services in Wisconsin, specializing in grief and cancer-related issues, and worked with children with special needs. Bill's short stories have appeared in serveral publications. The Zach Rules series books are his first books for children, merging his passions for good storytelling and providing counseling-like tools to help children live healthier, happier lives. Bill lives in Summit, Wisconsin, with his three sons who played their own role in the creation of the Zach Rules series. Darren McKee has illustrated books for many publishers over his twenty-year career. When not working, he spends his time riding his bike, reading, drawing, and traveling. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Debbie.

Reviews

-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, M.Ed., school counselor, Books That Heal Kids blog

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 (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.