“Reimagining Heartbreak weaves a charming spell. Shelley brings you down on the ground, into the woods, and into the preschoolers’ world where heart-breaking experiences, both happy and sad, abound. The children find walking sticks, get stuck, cry, get amazed and Shelley allows her heart to break open and feel their joy and pain as her joy and pain. Literacy and numeracy are quietly absent. Early childhood education can be about opening up to happiness and sadness for the children and teachers alike. Shelley captivates us with these openings.”

– David Sobel, Antioch University and Best-Selling Author

“Shelley Brandon’s poetic narrative paints pictures of what it is to be deeply attuned to the vibrations all around us – to the sensibilities of all our relations. She is an educator who has reclaimed the privilege to be truly, aesthetically, present alongside whole-hearted toddlers. We are invited into the provocative refocusing that happens when one word is added – from ‘I felt my heart break’, to ‘I felt my heart break open’, and to recognize the values we can bring to our work with children that will welcome these kinds of liberating breaks. ”

– Karyn Callaghan, President, Ontario Reggio Association

Foreword
Introduction
Chapter One: The Forest as Home Ground
Chapter Two: The Teacher
Chapter Three: The Gift
Chapter Four: Stuck
Chapter Five: Snow Monkeys
Chapter Six: Snail Encounter
Chapter Seven: Broken
Chapter Eight: Hush
About the Author
Coda
Study Guide