The forest animals have a problem—the watering hole isn't big enough. They have all the usual reasons for getting more water—who is biggest, who is strongest, and who is cleverest. But the animals are getting nowhere. Worse yet, they are fighting with each other, which won't solve anything.
In Trouble at the Watering Hole, Emo, a baby bear cub, and his best friend, a colorful bird named "Chickie," know there must be a way to stop the fighting. Together with the forest animals, Emo and Chickie explore ways to work things out that are positive and constructive. They learn skills together and use them to work through the problem—skills that can be used to resolve everyday problems without resorting to fighting. Skills that everyone can learn.
Trouble at the Watering Hole is a breakthrough book that focuses on the skills of conflict resolution. The "how" of working things out. As a bonus, this fun and educational book offers a Parent/Teacher Guide filled with games, exercises, and conversation-starters.
TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE is also available as a coloring book. You can also find the children's book translated in Hindi.
“It would be a better world if every child had the chance to learn early in life about ways to resolve conflict through cooperation. In this wonderfully simple and instructive tale for children, accompanied by a practical teacher’s guide packed with tips and exercises, Gregg Relyea and Josh Weiss make this dream possible.”
—From William Ury: Co-author of Getting to Yes and author of The Third Side

Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie

Children's Books

Relyea, Gregg F.

Weiss, Joshua N.

Animals

Resolution Press

The children’s book, Trouble at the Watering Hole, tells the story of forest animals who are fighting over a limited supply of water in a forest watering hole. Fighting with each other doesn't accomplish anything. Emo, a baby bear cub, and his best friend, Chickie, a colorful bird, explore ways that the forest animals can work through the problem, using proven, effective methods of conflict resolution. The story captures the "how" of conflict resolution and the skills that are part of the process.
The Parent/Teacher Manual offers games, exercises, puzzles, and conversation-starters to help parents and teachers describe the skills of constructive conflict resolution in the context of everyday situations. Chores, bedtime, TV time, use of mobile phones and devices, who uses the remote control for the TV, who gets to use sports equipment, who finds that their pencil has been taken by another student and many more situations bring to life the critical skills of constructive conflict resolution.
Trouble at the Watering Hole is the first book of its kind to reduce constructive conflict resolution to its essential skills. The Parent/Teacher Manual is a rich resource for discussing these skills and bringing them into focus for children by examining the role of constructive conflict resolution in everyday life.
To further help teach kids conflict resolution skills, search for the children's book TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE and purchase both books together.
TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE is also available as a coloring book.

Parent/Teacher Manual for TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE Children's Book

Joshua, Weiss N.

The forest animals have a problem--the watering hole isn't big enough. They have all the usual reasons for getting more water--who is biggest, who is strongest, and who is cleverest. But the animals are getting nowhere. Worse yet, they are fighting with each other, which won't solve anything. In Trouble at the Watering Hole, Emo, a baby bear cub, and his best friend, a colorful bird named "Chickie," know there must be a way to stop the fighting. Together with the forest animals, Emo and Chickie explore ways to work things out that are positive and constructive. They learn skills together and use them to work through the problem--skills that can be used to resolve everyday problems without resorting to fighting. Skills that everyone can learn. Trouble at the Watering Hole is a breakthrough book that focuses on the skills of conflict resolution. The "how" of working things out. This fun and educational book builds a foundation for kids to learn ways to constructively resolve problems and to build strong skills that can be used to resolve conflict for the rest of their lives. To further help teach kids conflict resolution skills, search for the companion book Parent/Teacher Manual for TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE and purchase both books together. "It would be a better world if every child had the chance to learn early in life about ways to resolve conflict through cooperation. In this wonderfully simple and instructive tale for children, accompanied by a practical teacher's guide packed with tips and exercises, Gregg Relyea and Josh Weiss make this dream possible." --From William Ury: Co-author of Getting to Yes and author of The Third Side

Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie COLORING BOOK

Bullying behavior has become so common that kids, parents, and teachers cannot afford to ignore it. Instead, they can talk about bullying behavior before it occurs or draw a roadmap of possible ways to respond when it does. Bullied No More! is three stories in one, where we find best friends Emo and Chickie in a new adventure together with their friend, Bart the beaver, who is being bullied by Scruffy the wolf. Should Bart fight back? What should Emo and Chickie do? Should Bart's parents and teachers get involved? And if so, how? Emo and Chickie want children to know they are NOT ALONE when they are the target of bullying behavior. Most importantly, Emo and Chickie want children to know they have CHOICES for how to respond to bullying behavior--choices that can lead to a positive outcome for everyone. Also available from the authors: To further help teach kids conflict resolution skills, search for the TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE and its companion book Parent/Teacher Manual for TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE and purchase both books together. TROUBLE AT THE WATERING HOLE is also available as a coloring book. You can also find the children's book translated in Hindi.

Bullied No More!: The Continuing Adventures of Emo and Chickie

Weiss, Josh N

Phones are fun! Friends are fun! But phony friends are the worst!! In this tale of friendship lost and found, long-time friends Emo and Chickie will be tested. With one click of a button, an embarrassing video is posted to social media. Can their friendship survive? Or will it be lost forever? In modern times, Emo and Chickie face a classic test of loyalty as they find their way through the challenges of new technology. Follow them as they learn ways to restore friendship after trust is broken and all seems lost. Through talking and finding out what is most important to each other, Emo and Chickie learn how to triumph over conflict--a lesson every child can learn. And they re-discover the meaning and value of true friendship. Bill Richardson, Former Governor of New Mexico and Former US Ambassador to the United Nations "The lessons here are invaluable for kids and adults alike. We can all learn from the language and techniques in this book to communicate effectively and to solve problems. Kids who learn these skills at an early age will become the world's future negotiators and diplomats." Sheila Heen, Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School, and Co-author of the bestselling book, Difficult Conversations--How to Discuss What Matters Most "Phony Friends offers a wonderful catalyst for talking with our kids about that confusing crossroads of social media, popularity and friendship. Follow Emo and Chickie as they navigate the joys of capturing juicy footage, the temptations of posting and instant celebrity, and the rough road of understanding the impact it has on each other - and on themselves. This new episode is sure to spark important conversations for kids and adults alike." Jim Melamed, CEO of mediate.com "Emo and Chickie have a falling out, yet manage to somehow work things out using a variety of 'modern forest' communication devices that young and old will relate to and be humored by. My favorite is using 'Forestgram' for communication. Emo and Chickie getting back together is the result of clarifying emotions, intentions and communications, all woven together with both 'online' and 'face-to-face' communications. Emo and Chickie's effective communication is a model for young and old alike also beyond the forest." Dr. Clare Fowler, Managing Editor at Mediate.com, ADR professor at University of Oregon School of Law "The Relyea and Weiss team have done it again. They have managed to slip fundamental truths into an easy-to-read format. My kids love reading these books because of the warm graphics and the funny characters, and they don't even realize they are learning dispute resolution concepts that they will draw on for the rest of their lives."

Phony Friends, Besties Again: The Continuing Adventures of Emo and Chickie

Growing Up & Facts of Life