Book Guides & Resources
A Resilience Book for School Counselors
A resilience book for school counselors with whole-group, small-group, and individual prompts, clear boundaries, objectives, and a block activity.
A resilience book for school counselors should create room for emotion without offering a simplistic promise that every problem can be fixed. *Mr. J and the Tower That Fell* supports conversations about responsibility, friendship change, honesty, regulation, and one-step-at-a-time action. It can serve whole groups, small groups, or individual conversations when the counselor sets a clear purpose and protects student privacy.
Illustration by Hafsa Asad: the book's activity page inviting children to name a feeling, take a deep breath, and start again one block at a time, with a note for grown-ups
Use a Resilience Book for School Counselors With a Clear Objective
Choose one observable objective before using the story. A student might identify a character’s feeling and supporting evidence, distinguish intention from action, name a safe regulation strategy, or divide a difficult task into one manageable next step. A narrow objective keeps discussion from drifting into forced disclosure.
The story supports multiple objectives because its resilience is accountable. Mr. J’s best friend carries most blocks while he postpones helping. She says she cannot do it alone and leaves; the tower falls. Mr. J feels hurt and stuck, works with clay, and later begins rebuilding. Subsequent challenges lead him to tell a gentle shopkeeper the truth, cry, and keep building.
Preview the complete book guide for story, age, and edition details. Amazon lists ages 4–8, though guided K–5 use is possible when questions and expectations are developmentally adjusted.
Whole-Group Use
In a classroom lesson, keep the focus on universal skills and the text. An objective might be: “Students will identify how a small action can begin a larger task.” Before reading, show one block and ask what it can and cannot build alone. After reading, chart the sequence feeling → breath → next block.
Use low-risk prompts: What did each friend contribute? When did Mr. J’s plan to help become a problem? What did clay allow him to do while he was stuck? How did the shopkeeper respond when he told the truth? Students can answer from the story rather than their own histories.
Whole-group use is not the right setting to ask who has experienced abandonment, family loss, or a painful friendship change. If students volunteer personal material, acknowledge it briefly and follow up privately according to school procedures. Do not invite peer advice on a sensitive disclosure.
Small-Group Use
A small group can examine a skill across two or three meetings. In one session, explore shared responsibility with blocks divided unevenly between two fictional builders. In another, compare coping actions: clay work, breathing, asking for help, telling the truth, and placing one block. In a final session, practice planning a school-based task in small steps.
Keep scenarios fictional or choice-based. For example: “A project partner keeps saying they will help later. What could each person say?” Students can generate respectful boundary language and accountable responses. This lets them rehearse without being assigned the roles of Mr. J or his friend based on real reputations.
The reading comprehension question bank offers literal and inferential prompts that can be selected for group goals. Avoid using every question; depth is more useful than coverage.
Individual Conversation Use
In an individual setting, let the student decide how close the conversation comes to personal experience. Begin with third-person observation: “Which part seems hardest for Mr. J?” Move only with permission: “Does any part connect to a kind of problem you want help with?” A child may stay entirely with the character.
The tower can become a planning tool. Write or draw a current, school-appropriate goal above an outline of three blocks. Label them “first,” “then,” and “ask.” The student identifies a first action, what follows, and whom they can ask for practical support. The counselor clarifies that asking for help is different from transferring the entire responsibility.
This resource is not a diagnostic tool or a replacement for individualized clinical care. Follow district protocols, scope of practice, mandated-reporting duties, caregiver communication rules, and student support plans. The story can open conversation; professional judgment determines what happens next.
Illustration by Hafsa Asad: Mr. J holding a block while his friend actively supports and builds the tower, showing uneven effort
Companion Activity: Build, Pause, Rebuild
Use six to ten blocks or folded index cards. First, give a fictional team goal such as building a bridge for a toy. Ask participants to assign fair roles before touching materials. After a short build, pause and remove one nonessential block—not the whole structure. Invite everyone to notice an emotion silently and take one slow breath.
Then ask: “What remains? What is one useful next move? Does anyone need to revise a role or ask for help?” Finish the structure or choose a responsible stopping point. Debrief the process rather than judging the product.
The activity captures the book’s information gain: resilience is not only tolerating a collapse. It includes noticing whether labor was fair, making room for feeling, changing a plan, speaking honestly, and acting in a small unit. Additional no-print and low-prep options are in the companion activities guide.
Boundaries That Keep the Lesson Safe
- Allow passing, drawing, or talking only about the character.
- Never promise that rebuilding restores a friendship or removes consequences.
- Do not frame crying as required, weak, or proof of emotional growth.
- Separate empathy for hurt from excuses for behavior.
- Avoid diagnosing Mr. J or asking students to diagnose one another.
- End with a regulation choice and clear return to the school day.
The grown-up note in the book emphasizes accountability, emotional regulation, perseverance, responsibility, and beginning again after mistakes. Those ideas work best when adults model them too: acknowledge missteps, regulate without denial, and identify a specific repair action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can counselors use this with older elementary students?
Yes, with guided K–5 discussion. Older students can analyze boundaries, unequal labor, and imperfect repair rather than focusing only on naming basic feelings.
Should a student be asked to describe a personal loss?
No. Offer invitations and alternatives, and allow the entire conversation to remain focused on the fictional character.
Where can a school find ordering information?
Visit the book page for current options, or use the bulk-order guide when planning school or district quantities.
Bring *Mr. J and the Tower That Fell* Home
This book fits counselors who need a concrete, flexible story for discussing accountable resilience while preserving student choice, privacy, and emotional safety.
Order *Mr. J and the Tower That Fell* on Amazon or visit the official book page to learn more about the story, classroom use, bulk school orders, and author visits.
Dave Joisil—known as Mr. J—is a certified Health and Physical Education teacher and an independent Black male children's author. Supporting his independently published work helps make room for more educator-created stories and Black male representation in children's books.