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Under the Hood

Name: Under the Hood
Availability: InStock
Author: Wanderly

Join your choice of character for a day in Rubberdale where things don't run quite as smoothly as planned. When feelings start revving up, your character learns to check under the hood - noticing their emotions, understanding their body's signals, and choosing how to respond. Will they find a way to get their day back on track?

ConfidenceResilienceSelf-AwarenessSelf-ManagementRelationship SkillsDecision MakingCBTRubberdale

About This Story

What your child will experience

Your child chooses a character in Rubberdale who faces a challenging situation similar to one they've experienced. Through guided questions, they'll help the character notice physical sensations (tight chest, clenched fists), name emotions, identify unhelpful thoughts, and explore different ways to respond—including choices that didn't work well in real life.

Why this approach helps

This story uses CBT-based techniques to build self-management over time. By walking through body signals, feelings, thoughts, and choices in a playful, low-stakes setting, children practice the "check under the hood" sequence they can use when big feelings hit in real life. Exploring less-helpful options safely helps them understand consequences without shame.

What to notice as a parent

Help set the stage by choosing a situation and behavior that are as similar as possible to what your child experienced. Pay attention to which feelings or body sensations your child names—they often mirror their real experience, and it might give you more information. Notice the beliefs they choose ("I'm not good enough" vs. "I can try again"). These clues show how your child interprets challenges and can open the door to rewriting those beliefs into kinder truths through gentle questioning.

Personalize This Story

Make this story truly special by adding these details:

✓Choose your character
✓What situation lead to big feelings?
✓What was the response?

Story Questions

Questions your child may be asked while creating this story:

The main character started to think...
What did the main character's body start to feel like?
When the main character thought this way, they remembered something important about themselves...
To make sure things go well next time, the main character could...
Deep down, the main character was feeling like...
Maybe what's really true is...
Next time, the main character will try to...

Loved by Families

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“At first I thought it was one of those bedtime ploys to stay up later, but when the request came again first thing in the morning I realized it was just genuine excitement about Wanderly. My two kiddos - ages 7 and 8 - had a blast selecting their adventure pals (they have the cutest "pets" that go on the adventure with them) and choosing the direction of the story every step of the way. I turned up the reading level today and it was neat to see my son work through a few new words and stick with it because he was so excited about his story.”

— Taryn S

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— Sebastian

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— Matt

“Ok, so I installed this yesterday, and I've already read 5 stories with my 4 year old. That's over an hours worth of time. Today he tried to negotiate to have me read 4 in a row... He's fully engaged, and takes his time over the choices - I think that and the funny moments in the stories are what have him hooked. He lost it when our cat (yes, you can include your pet in a story!) turned into a elephant. As a parent, it's whimsical and a welcome change from the regular books in rotation. I was initially unsure about using my phone to engage him during bedtime, but he entrallment quickly overcame that. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others.”

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“As an lifelong educator, I give this app an enthusiastic 5 stars+. With opportunity to choose and name characters, type of story and plot ... what could be more creative? What could be a more productive use of screen time? I love that this app was created and is carefully monitored by a Mom of young kids. She also happens to have technical/AI chops ... she was a Google Product Manager in their Education Products sector. The graphics are quite lovely, the story lines are fun and age-appropriate.”

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— Bill

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