Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Local author Darcele Robinson, LLMSW, PhD, with the Zeta Omega Zeta youth in Saginaw, photo provided by Dr. Robinson
On March 1, 2025, Governor Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed March 2025 as Reading Month in Michigan.
At the end of her proclamation, she quoted Dr. Seuss in saying: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.”
Every Saturday in March the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library is featuring stories and activities with a different guest reader and community member for all area children and families.
Dr. Darcele Robinson, LLMSW, PhD, who was at the library with her newest award-winning book recently, shared with the Courier her passion for reading and the power of words.
Robinson has contacted local schools regarding reading her book: “Kaygan’s Adventure: My Feelings Matter,” out loud. The kids who are hearing the book are as young as age 4. The book is recommended for children through age 12, parents, teachers, schools and youth organizations that want to promote emotional intelligence and social-emotional learning.
It features diverse characters, each experiencing a wide range of feelings. It is intended to showcase the message that every emotion is normal and deserves acknowledgment.
When reading it, to engage with the groups, Robinson says to the students: “It’s OK to feel” as she reads.
The students are asked to respond by saying: “my feelings matter.”
Robinson said this exercise is intended to make students feel as though they are “in the book.”
As a clinical social worker and therapist, Robinson aims to offer guidance and assistance to help reestablish an emotional and mental foundation of strength and clarity, while teaching new skills. Her practice’s focus is on ADHD, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and substance abuse, as well as children.
Starting with her very first book, Robinson’s books reflect her heart for young people
For example, “Kaygan’s Adventures: Save Silly Nilly” is designed to help children cope with loss. In it, a young girl named Kaygan faces the death of her best friend and cherished dog, Millie.
“I started writing books because my granddaughter – her dog passed away, and she was just devastated,” said Robinson. “I couldn’t get her to stop crying. I was like ‘What is it? Talk to me.’ I said ‘let’s work together and you tell me the memories that you shared with Millie.’ She started telling me, and we started writing activities and stuff. I was like, ‘you know what, somebody else’s child might be going through this’ So, I wrote the book.”
A recent TIME magazine article points out children who are read to produce and understand language better and become better readers later in life. The article, “Banning Books Isn’t Just Morally Wrong. It’s Also Unhealthy,” also states reading to young children can also help them develop attention, deal with difficult emotions and control behavior like aggression.
Another recent TIME magazine article: “Want to Read More in 2025? Start With 25 Minutes a Day” also states that research shows that reading may help us live longer, sharpens memory, helps us learn, increases our tolerance for uncertainty, benefits mental health, gives us more empathy for others and mitigates stress.
A local author, Robinson, was honored to have fifth book, “Kaygan’s Adventure: My Feelings Matter” to have earned the Christlit Book Award in 2025.
She said: “I just feel that there was a need in my community for this particular book because I want people to know that it’s OK to have a feeling. But we need to work on and have control of the feeling.”
Through Donations With Love, a 501(c)(3) Robinson co-founded with her husband, Kenneth Robinson, the Journal with the Author program also aims to educate underage children to cope with life events such as stress, anxiety and depression.
The community is invited to learn how these crises influence our youth and can hurt their lives and how literacy can help.
To learn more about Donations with Love, visit https://donationswithlove.com/.
Dr. Robinson is a psychotherapist for Grace Counseling Services, which can be found on Psychology Today. To contact the clinical director, Dr. Thomasine Wortham, email worthamtt@gmail.com.
