Back-to-School with The Angel Heart: Helping Children Discover the Power of Love, Feelings, and Curiosity

As children head back to school, families and educators are preparing for more than a new academic year. The return to the classroom is also an opportunity to help children build confidence, express their feelings, develop empathy, and approach the world with curiosity.

August marks a time of transition as famliies and educators prepare for the school year. Some children are moving from home to school for the first time, while others are advancing to new age groups or new schools. This is an important time to engage the children in conversations that will help them build their confidence and express themselves as they adjust to the new experience and approach it with curiosity.

“The Angel Heart” by Wendy Nadherny Fachon offers a gentle and imaginative way to open those conversations, especially in the face of mixed feelings.

At the center of this uplifting story is a delicate heart-shaped flower. As children peel away its uniquely shaped petals, they discover clues that reveal the secrets of life, love, joy, and peace. Through rhythm and rhyme, color and form, metaphor and wordplay, “The Angel Heart” invites young readers to explore ideas that reach beyond the pages of a traditional storybook.

A Story That Encourages Conversation
Back-to-school season can bring excitement, but it can also bring uncertainty. New classrooms, teachers, friendships, routines, and expectations may create a range of emotions for young children.

“The Angel Heart” provides parents, grandparents, teachers, and other caregivers with an opportunity to open the door to conversation, open hearts to talk about those feelings, and open minds to think about how to handle emotions in a creative and age-appropriate way.

Rather than simply providing answers, the story encourages children to ask questions and explore their own thoughts. That spirit of curiosity is especially valuable in the classroom, where asking questions is one of the foundations of learning.

Connecting Reading with Positive Values
The start of the school year is also a natural time to reinforce regular reading habits and build an expressive vocabulary that promotes positive values - gratitude, faith, caring.

A reading guide included with the book sparks conversations about letter shapes, sounds and words, and it highlights the power of simple words like smile, laugh, love, and live. This makes the story a potential conversation starter for families and educators looking for ways to connect literacy with positive social and emotional learning.

While reading the story, children can discuss what they notice, share how particular words or images make them feel, and explore the different meanings they find within the story.

A Foundational Resource for Parents and Educators
With its combination of storytelling, poetry, visual imagery, finger play, and word play, “The Angel Heart” can support shared reading experiences at home or in educational settings.

As a new school year begins, adults can use the story to encourage children to:

• Talk openly about their feelings and experiences
• Ask questions about the world around them
• Explore the meaning of love, kindness, joy, and peace
• Develop curiosity and imagination
• Connect words, emotions, and personal experiences
• Feel comfortable discussing big questions in a supportive environment

Making the First Days of School Meaningful
Back-to-school preparation often focuses on supplies, schedules, classrooms, and new routines. But preparing a child emotionally, socially and literally can be just as important.

A book such as “The Angel Heart” can help make reading time an opportunity to slow down, let go of worries adn be present with the shared moment.

Also available to support deeper learning and engagement:

• “The Angel Heart: Teacher’s Lesson Plan - 33 Literacy Lessons to Help Grow the Whole Child”
• “The Angel Heart: Student Activity Workbook - 68 Activities to Help Brighten Your World”

About the Author
In 2011, Wendy became certified in RIPQA afterschool teaching methods and began developing creative literacy programs for in-school, after-school, and summer enrichment. Her magical stories and lessons combine walking, environmental education, and spirituality with social-emotional learning (SEL), supporting whole-child development.

In 2019, Wendy launched the Story Walking Radio Hour on the Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network. The podcast series brings together inspiring voices - parents, educators, authors, wellness practitioners and nature lovers from all walks of life - to share their stories and methods for getting children reconnected with nature and mindful living.

In 2025, she published ‘The Angel Heart,’ accompanied by a parents’ reading guide to help families engage deeply with the book’s themes. Wendy is currently developing “The Angel Heart” Curriculum Companion, a resource designed for educators, counselors, and families to facilitate healing, reflection, and literacy through structured, nature-based lessons. To learn more about Wendy’s work, visit: www.storywalking.com.

Contact Information

Miranda Wilson

Production Manager

Worldwide Publicists

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