For Parents & Educators

Reading together at home

• Begin with Maya's family: she loves her baby brother and also misses time with her mother. Ask what it might be like to have both feelings at once.
• Pause at a station and invite your child to name the feeling. Let them choose whether to share a personal experience.
• Imagine the red STOP lever slowing the train: pause, take a breath and think about another path.
• After Maya returns home, talk about a trusted grown-up your child could share feelings with.

In the classroom

• Use the book as a read-aloud to open social-emotional learning time.
• Create a feelings map using Left-Out Lane, Jealousy Junction, Sadness Station, Worry Way, Anger Station and Anger Avenue. Children can discuss Maya rather than share personal stories.
• Build a Self-Control Station list together: calming strategies, patience, positive thinking, focus and self-control. Invite examples of helpful choices after a pause.

For school counselors & therapists

• Use the train metaphor as a shared language in small groups or individual sessions.
• Explore how anger may have hurt, loneliness, fear or embarrassment beneath it, without assuming which feeling a child has.
• Connect the STOP lever and Self-Control Station tools with the regulation strategies you already teach.

Inside the Journey: discussion prompts

• Left-Out Lane: Can you love someone and still miss the attention you used to have?
• Jealousy Junction: What might jealousy tell us about something we wish for?
• Sadness Station: What helps you feel supported when you are sad or lonely?
• Worry Way: Who could you talk with when something feels worrying?
• Anger Station & Anger Avenue: Could there be another feeling underneath the anger?
• Self-Control Station: After a pause and a breath, which tool could help you choose what to do next?
• The red STOP lever: What happens when Maya slows the train? What could a pause make possible?
• Returning home: What might Maya want her mother to understand? How could you begin a conversation about a big feeling?

This book supports conversation and learning; it does not diagnose or treat any condition. If you're concerned about a child, please reach out to a qualified professional.

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