Greg Bro on Designing Conversations Through Storytelling That Help Children Understand Themselves

Belonging, rejection, frustration, pride; children often experience the full spectrum of human emotion long before they can define it. A preschooler who feels excluded may not say, “I’m struggling with belonging.” A second grader overwhelmed by embarrassment may not identify shame. Instead, those internal states can surface as tears, silence, defiance, or withdrawal.

Research underscores the gap. Studies show that children with high emotional intelligence are better able to manage academic pressure, demonstrate good social skills, and have high motivation to learn. Meanwhile, other reports note that children with more severe language difficulties might experience elevated levels of social-emotional problems. Feelings are present, but the lack of language can impact the way they express them.

“Little kids feel the whole expanse of emotion,” says Greg Bro, founder of Brute Optimism and the Every Shape Emotional Literacy Series. “They just don’t have the vocabulary yet to articulate what’s happening inside.”

Parents, he notes, often recognize the pattern, and they may want to foster openness and connection. However, Bro highlights that using redundant phrases such as “use your words” will not supply the words themselves. Teachers often face similar challenges in classrooms where social dynamics may increasingly grow complex. “What families and education need are accessible bridges, tools that translate emotional experience into language children can grasp,” he explains.

It’s within this necessity that Bro found his purpose. A longtime storyteller, Fortune 500 UX leader, and illustrator, he launched the Every Shape Emotional Literacy Series to introduce emotional vocabulary through simple, visual metaphors. The first title, Every Shape Has a Place, explores belonging using colorful geometric characters and playful illustrations that children can easily draw themselves. “What little kid can’t draw a circle or a square?” Bro says. “Put a couple of dots on it and suddenly it’s a character they can connect with. I just wanted it to feel vibrant and fun.”

According to Bro, the characters are approachable, repeatable, and connected across books, allowing young readers to revisit familiar shapes while exploring new emotional themes. The next book in the series, Every Shape Has a Feeling, set to release on March 17th, reinforces the idea that shapes on the outside may not match the shape on the inside. Emotions, then, are framed as information rather than labels of good or bad.

“Giving kids reference points for complicated ideas like belonging or anxiety is powerful,” Bro explains. “Even if their understanding is clumsy at first, the act of talking about feelings has value.”

Parenthood reshaped his creative lens. “First and foremost, I’m a dad,” he says, speaking of his two daughters, aged seven and three. “Observing their imagination has influenced both the tone and structure of the series,” he adds. Bro highlights watching his younger daughter drag herself across the floor, declaring she was a lava mermaid swilling through molten rock. Such uninhibited creativity, he insists, can invite adults to loosen their own mental constraints.

“Being around kids is like running with someone who is a little faster than you. They just sprint out the gate creatively,” Bro says. This belief carries into school visits, where he combines read-aloud sessions with live doodling and open Q&A, enabling children to externalize feelings through drawing. In his view, the act of sketching a shape that represents “left out” or “excited” can transform abstraction into something tangible. “Anything you do with a kid, the activity itself teaches,” he says. “You learn how they understand the world by creating alongside them.”

Furthermore, the series is designed as a conversation catalyst. The books are curated with simple language to allow easy grasping and navigating at any point of the day, whether at bedtime, in classrooms, or in counselling settings. With interactive prompts, the book is designed to encourage organic conversation instead of a scripted lesson, with an aim to reduce shame spirals and support self-advocacy. “Home should be a space where kids can bring their entire emotional range,” Bro says. “They’re going to see versions of us we wouldn’t show anyone else, and we’ll see all of them. That’s part of belonging.”

Ultimately, Bro seeks to position the book as a valuable yet riveting resource where children can expand emotional literacy while adults gain a pathway into meaningful conversations and connections amid screen-time wars. From his perspective, shared vocabulary strengthens relationships and trust. Over time, those small exchanges can accumulate into emotional confidence, allowing children to find their place in the world.

More than 30 additional concepts are mapped out for future installments, each exploring themes such as courage, creativity, and mistakes within the same connected world of shapes. Workshops and classroom tools are also in development under the broader Brute Optimism umbrella.

“Life’s too short,” Bro reflects. “Be as playful as you can, as much as you can.” In that spirit, Every Shape continues to grow, not merely as a book series, but as an evolving framework for helping families name what they feel and build connection through language.