Sadie Listens: An Inward Journey

By James M. Steele

Almost everyone has felt out of touch, in chaos, or overwhelmed by their feelings. You are invited to discover how Sadie Listens by noticing and nurturing her feelings. When Sadie's cat dies, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971681139
• ISBN13: 9780971681132
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Steele Studios
• Length: 43 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

A very important book for developing emotional awareness

Sadie Listens is a wonderful book for children over 6 years old. It's a story of a little girl grieving for her dead cat. I loved the story and the emotionally evocative illustrations and I'm 68 years old. I gave it to a granddaughter for her 11th birthday and she read it right away. Her cat had died two weeks prior. When she finished she went to her mother and said seriously, "This is a very good book." It helped her and her younger brother with their grief. I recommend the book for any child who has lost something or someone important to them. It has a positive, happy ending.

A book for all ages and all times!

The words of E. McMahon and P. Campbell about "Sadie Listens" from the Foreword to the book summarize the essence of the book for me. They wrote: "Steele's ingenious little classic provides a unique glimpse into that moment of transformation when body-connections are made and inner worlds unfold" And they conclude this paragraph with "The outer conflict we experience and the social disorder so prevalent in our world today, stem directly from this state of inner disconnection."The author provides this glimpse with the use of incredible drawings which appear almost three-dimensional. Sadie's appearance could be related to by a person of either gender, or most any racial background. The book is of exceptional quality. The hard back cover contains the same rich design that is also on the dust jacket. The colors throughout are rich and meaningful. The author describes his reason for the choice of tones in the synopsis on the front flap of the dust cover.The book can not fully describe what Sadie does inside when she listens, but I have seen it open readers to want to learn more. A resource for learning more is listed at the bottom of the Foreword page.

It's not about feelings; it's about feeling feelings & more

"Sadie Listens" accomplishes a complex task in a profoundly simple story. It is easy to talk "about" feelings. It's easy to say "I'm sad" or "I'm mad" but it is very difficult to focus inside and just "feel" feelings--especially the scary ones. Working with children who are grieving, this is one of our tasks; so I am always looking for ways to help the children move from just talking about their feelings to actually feeling and listening. The first time I read the book to a group of bereaved children, it was obvious that they "got it."

Sadie Listens

Sadie Listens at first glance is a children's book, but it is also a book for adults. This beautiful story weaves us through the emotional journey of grief and shows us that the path lies directly in front of us and we must move through the path rather than around it. I highly recommend this book for anyone dealing with the emotional turmoil of the grieving process.

Helping children to learn to listen to their heart

"Sadie Listens" is a short children's story about Sadie and the emptiness that she feels inside after the death of her cat. It elegantly discloses her feelings and the failure of activities to fill her loss. She learns to turn inside and listen to herself and to her feelings. It is a book about feelings, confusion, social expectations, and healing. A highly recommended purchase for anyone with a child going through difficult times of any kind, it can easily be used to open a discussion with children about honoring their feelings and moving on to healing.