Meet the Racers

What your child will experience

Your child picks a Rubberdale racer and gets to know them through what makes them feel different ways. You can choose how deep to go:

• Just starting: Your child meets the racer through four big feelings (happy, angry, sad, and calm) and helps them notice a kind, true thought about themselves. Great for preschool and kindergarteners, just building emotional vocabulary.

• Going further: Your child meets the racer through the energy and pleasantness of feelings, learns that several feeling words can live in the same family, and watches the racer feel two things at once, make a small mistake, find their way to calm, and think a kind thought. Great for ages 6+, who are ready for richer emotional vocabulary and the idea that feelings can mix.

Why this approach helps

Children build emotional literacy in stages: first learning that feelings have causes, then learning more precise feeling words, and eventually learning that feelings can mix and that there are ways to move through them. This story scaffolds each of those stages. By watching a beloved character feel different ways, your child practices reading emotional cues while also learning that everyone can feel a full range of emotions. By helping the character think a kind thought about themselves, your child rehearses positive self-talk.

The deeper version uses an energy + pleasantness framework (similar to RULER and other research-backed emotional literacy programs) to teach kids that feelings live in families - feelings with lots of energy that feel good, feelings with lots of energy that feel hard, and feelings with quiet good energy. This framework helps kids find more precise words for what they feel.

What to notice as a parent

Pay attention to which positive self-belief your child picks for the character—these might reflect qualities your child values and might be growing in themselves. In the deeper version, also notice which mixed-up-energy behavior your child picks - kids might pick the one they recognize from themselves. Or they could just be exploring. There's no right answer. After reading, you might ask: "What's something kind you could think about yourself, like your character did?" Or: "Have you ever felt two feelings at the same time?"