Interactive Learning with Pip and Charley: Stories for Social-Emotional Growth

Elementary school counselor Katy Steinbach introduces a new dimension to children’s literature with her Pip and Charley book series. These stories revolve around Pip, an adventurous green dinosaur, and Charley, their bee-st friend, navigating the highs and lows of school life together. What sets these books apart is their interactive approach, encouraging young readers to engage through open-ended questions alongside charming illustrations and relatable interactions.

During the challenges of the pandemic, Steinbach combined her passion for illustration and writing with a dedication to enhancing student engagement. Recognizing the opportunity to involve families in social-emotional learning, she crafted her books to spark meaningful conversations between children and adults.

As Steinbach developed the series, she realized the potential to include families in these learning opportunities, noting, “I wanted my students’ families to have a tool to engage in conversations about social-emotional learning topics that was easy to use.”

A distinctive feature of Steinbach’s books is their concluding segments, which provide instructions on implementing the depicted healthy strategies for real-life problems. While the main content of the book addresses such situations in ways that kids can relate to, Steinbach notes that “the segments at the end are for the adults to know how to have these conversations and how to help their children practice the skills taught in the books.” 

Jenkins Group played a crucial role in bringing Steinbach’s vision to life by assisting with registrations, proofreading, line editing, layout review, improvement suggestions, and the intricate process of printing. Thanks to the successful collaboration, 750 copies of each title—Pip and Charley are Kind to Themselves, Pip and Charley Make Friends, and Pip and Charley Solve a Problem—were produced, ensuring these valuable resources reached eager young readers and their families during the Zoom era.

The Pip and Charley books have the power to broaden perspectives and foster growth and learning across all ages. As Steinbach emphasizes, “It takes a lot of practice, but I believe that the story helps them understand how to use these skills in practice.”

For more information about the Pip and Charley books and to explore their impact on social-emotional learning, visit Pip and Charley’s official site.