Harold Finds a Voice: Child's Play Library-Social and Emotional Learning

What does it mean to have a voice of your own?

Harold is an amazing mimic. He can copy the sounds of everything around his home—from familiar household noises to the everyday sounds he hears throughout his world. But after imitating the same sounds again and again, Harold begins to wonder: what other voices are out there?

Determined to discover the answer, Harold ventures into the big, wide world, listening, experimenting, and trying to find a sound that truly belongs to him. Then comes an important realization: Harold doesn't yet have a voice of his own. Can he discover how to express himself and find his own unique voice?

Written and illustrated by Courtney Dicmas, Harold Finds a Voice is a colorful, funny, and imaginative story that introduces young children to important social and emotional learning themes in an engaging and accessible way. Harold's hilarious attempts at imitation encourage children to think about self-expression, individuality, confidence, identity, communication, and finding their place in the world.

Why Children Will Love It

• Encourages self-expression: Harold's journey shows children the importance of discovering and expressing their own unique voice.
• Supports social-emotional learning: A playful story about individuality, confidence, identity, and understanding what makes each person special.
• Invites participation: Children will have fun joining Harold as he mimics familiar everyday sounds.
• Builds confidence: Harold's search for his own voice offers an encouraging message about being yourself and embracing individuality.
• Sparks imagination: Bright illustrations, humor, inventive sounds, and playful storytelling create an engaging read-aloud experience.
• Encourages communication: The story provides opportunities for children to listen, imitate, make sounds, and experiment with different ways of expressing themselves.

With its lively artwork, playful humor, and memorable character, Harold Finds a Voice is a delightful social-emotional learning picture book for young children and a fun choice for parents, caregivers, preschool classrooms, and early learning settings. Harold's journey reminds readers that discovering who you are—and finding your own voice—is something worth celebrating.

My path towards illustration began in first grade math class. I spent hours fixated on my teacher’s woolly cardigan, imagining the fibrous tufts into sublunary shapes: whale sharks, moon dust, neon octopus suckers. In retrospect, these early ventures into re-arranging reality serve to illuminate my clear decision to become an illustrator.

I feel hugely grateful to my family and friends, as well as my tutors and colleagues from the BA Studio Art course at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and the MA Children’s Book Illustration program at the Cambridge School of Art at ARU, who have helped me to become the person I am today (parrot squawks and all).

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