Book Review of The Kissy Heart: A Story About Personal Boundaries
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The Children’s Book Review
The Kissy Heart: A Story About Personal Boundaries
Written by Ziba and Farzin Forooghian
Illustrated by Meriette Medina
Ages 4+ | 36 Pages
Publisher: Self-published | ISBN-13: 9798394862335
What to Expect: Friendship, boundaries, personal space, consideration
Boundaries and personal space can be complex concepts for some young readers to understand—especially regarding needs other than their own. Using food-related humor, The Kissy Heart delivers a simple message: you have a right to ask others to respect your need for space.
Kissy the kissy heart loves to show affection to her friends by touching them. She’s always touching their hair, hugging, kissing, or tickling them to show how much she loves them. However, not all of Kissy’s friends like to be touched. Tickles make Donna’s sprinkles fall off. Taco only likes his parents kissing him. Kissy doesn’t realize how uncomfortable she’s making her friends feel until one day, they tell her and ask her to ask permission before she touches them. By setting clear boundaries, Kissy’s friends help her find ways of making them feel happy instead of uncomfortable.
Simple, repetitive language drives this message home unambiguously, making it easy for even young readers to understand. The story ends with clear instructions for how readers can protect their personal space, including what to say and how to say it. Adorable kawaii-style illustrations add humor and dialogue, using facial expressions to help readers connect emotions to actions.
The Kissy Heart is an accessible, fun, and practical tool for helping young readers understand boundaries.
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About the Author
Dr. Farzin Forooghian is an ophthalmologist who is currently practicing in North Vancouver, Canada. His training in children’s book writing comes from reading hundreds of children’s books with his children. When his oldest daughter, Ziba, expressed an interest in writing stories at the age of 7, he developed The Squeaky Wheel and The Kissy Heart with her. These stories were initially intended for his children. However, due to the positive feedback that was received, it was decided that it should be shared with the rest of the world. As this is a non-profit endeavor, all royalties go directly to charity (BC Children’s Hospital).
Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. This is a sponsored*, non-biased review of The Kissy Heart: A Story About Personal Boundaries. Learn more about getting a book review …
