Lauren Grabois Fischer and ‘The Be Books’ Harness Social-Emotional Learning Concepts for Good

Social-emotional learning: an approach to education that emphasizes social skills and emotions as just as important as other academic curriculum. While the benefits of implementing social-emotional learning into the classroom were discovered more than half a century ago by Yale Professor James Comer, society has taken a long time to follow in tandem, with low public education budgets and a focus on other subjects pushing the ideas to the side. Nearly 60 years after Comer’s own studies, a piece of 2019 legislation finally introduced grants toward social-emotional learning programs throughout the United States school system, though requiring the established training and dedication to do so -- something many public institutions, particularly in areas of economic hardship, unfortunately lack.

The foundations of social-emotional learning encourage children to feel their emotions fully, process these feelings, and move forward from them in a constructive way. The educational theory revolves around five principles: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and making positive decisions. This comprehensive toolkit allows kids to not only navigate the classroom and homelife with ease, but likewise sets them up for success in their impending adulthood, fostering well-rounded and adaptable individuals.

Having spent a number of years as a schoolteacher herself, Lauren Grabois Fischer knew there must be a better way to spread the positive impacts of social-emotional learning concepts throughout the country and subsequently decided to found her own independent publishing house, The Be Books, to do so. Consisting of a collection of feel-good books that teach uplifting lessons from gratitude to kindness to self-acceptance, The Be Books series has touched the lives of countless children not just in the United States, but around the globe.

“As a mom and educator, I know the power a book can have on a person,” said Grabois Fischer. “I personally love reading picture books; they express depth in a short and simplified way. Raising my own children, I knew I wanted to create books that would create a kinder and more accepting world around them and within them. Thus, The Be Books was born. I wanted to remind all children to ‘be’ kind, ‘be’ accepting, ‘be’ grateful, ‘be’ positive, ‘be’ themselves!”

The Be Books series now contains eight entries covering a range of topics, all available in both paperback and hardcover, that are simple to integrate into the classroom or read at home during nightly storytime. Including books like The Zoo’s Big News that inspire confidence and originality, and Love Grows Love, which encourages kindness and positivity, The Be Books collection has something to offer everyone. The social-emotional learning concepts displayed in the beloved books are likewise easy to share with others, as the lessons transcend beyond the pages and into readers’ everyday interactions.

Though it will undoubtedly continue to take time for schools to fully adopt social-emotional learning, The Be Books makes teaching children the life-long lessons of positivity as simple as storytime, turning Grabois Fischer’s collection into a must-have for parents and dedicated educators everywhere.

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