Once Upon an Upset

“Do you ever notice how you feel when someone gives you a zing?

A zing is what I call the feeling I get when someone does something that upsets me. Maybe it’s a harsh tone, maybe someone hasn’t responded to me the way I wished they would have. Or maybe someone’s being plain old-fashioned mean or rude for reasons I can’t understand.”

— From 'What To Do When People Upset You'

A conversation about why it’s so easy to get upset by other people, and how we can create more peace in our minds and in our lives by understanding the situation a bit differently.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

What To Do When People Upset You was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“One early winter morning, Emily’s mother was driving her to school, when Emily noticed the moon still up in the sky.
’Look at the moon, Mommy!’
’Wow, look at that. What a beautiful moon, honey.’
’I bet it must be cold up there.’
’Oh, I’m sure it is!’
’You think the moon ever gets cold, Mommy?’
’No, dear. The moon doesn’t get cold.’
’How do you know?’
’I just know, darling.’
’But did you ever ask the moon if she gets cold?’
’Yes, I did.’
’Did you really, Mommy?’”

— from 'The Backside of the Moon'

The story of a little girl who wanted to know if the moon was cold, and wouldn’t give up until she found out, even when all the grown-ups insisted her question was ridiculous.

(Suitable for all ages.)

The Backside of the Moon was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

"Welcome to What’s Your Upset…
What’s you’re upset? You’re on the air!
Hi. I just had a big drama with my mother.
Uh huh. What happened?
Well, I found an icky blueberry in my bowl and I threw it across the room and it accidentally hit her in the face.
I’m sorry to laugh. It’s really not funny.
My mom didn’t think it was funny either.
I bet not. So, uh, why the big upset over an icky blueberry?
Because it was disgusting.
So you chucked it across the room?
Yeah. I didn’t want it near me.
Did you feel it was an emergency situation?
It WAS an emergency situation!”

—from 'The Icky Blueberry, or How To Find Out More About What's Really Bothering Us'

A conversation with a boy who had a very big upset after finding an icky blueberry in his bowl. But he discovers, by going deeper inside of himself, that his upset was about much more than an icky blueberry.

(Suitable for all ages.)

The Icky Blueberry, or How To Find Out More About What's Really Bothering Us was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Once there was a girl who wanted to be a hairdresser. All growing up she would style her hair, her friends’ hair and even her grandmother’s hair. She had a gift for making people sparkle. She loved how they looked at themselves in the mirror when she was through, as if their best selves had emerged and were waving hello.”

—from 'How To Find Your Anchor When You're Feeling Swept Away’

When a girl becomes flooded by intrusive thoughts, a friend teaches her how to find an anchor.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

How To Find Your Anchor When You're Feeling Swept Away was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“Hello. I’m a flower. A beautiful, one-of-a-kind flower. If you saw me, you would have to stop and look. Even if you were running late, you would have to just look for at least a second. You might even want to snap a photo.”

— from 'The Anxious Little Seed'

The Anxious Little Seed is a story about one little seed in the garden who refuses to be happy, because she's too busy wanting to be a flower.

(Suitable for all ages.)

The Anxious Little Seed was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

The Land Of I’m Better Than You is a poem about a boy who wants to be better than everyone else, until he realizes he’s made a mistake.

(Suitable for all ages.)

New episodes every Wednesday!

The Land Of I’m Better Than You was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“I once knew a little boy who had a lot of fears. During the day, he wasn’t scared of much—he’d run around feeling pretty great—but once the sun set, his fears would wake up.” —from ‘Fact-Checking Your Fears’

Fact-Checking Your Fears is a conversation about understanding where our fears come from, and how to use our brains to decide if something is dangerous or not.

(Suitable for all ages.)

Fact-Checking Your Fears was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

No Joking About Choking is a very short poem based on true events. For some odd reason, when I’m upset with my son, I often rhyme inadvertently.

(Suitable for all ages.)

New episodes every Wednesday!

No Joking About Choking was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

Tip Tapping is a guided meditation for kids, that requires a bit of assistance from a grown-up.

It's a story I tell my son when he can’t sleep at night, when he’s scared or anxious or just has an abundance of maniacal energy.

There’s a lot of room for improvisation, but I’ve shared the framework along with a recording of the story, in case you’d like to try it out.

Basically, a grown-up tip-taps their fingers as if they’re little legs, on all the parts of the child’s body that the story mentions.

It can be silly and a lot of fun and it also helps to call my son’s attention back from all his video games and friends and other worldly stuff, and back into his body where he can feel like he’s home, safe and comfortable.

(Suitable for ages 2-10.)

Tip Tapping was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.

New episodes every Wednesday!

For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.