Welcome back to the Heart Hotel! Seven-year-old Louie is an excellent Hotel Manager, but today, a green, squiggly, and nose-wrinkling guest has arrived at the front desk. Disgust has checked in, and he brought a suitcase packed entirely with "yucks," "ewws," and squishy things!
 
When Louie encounters a plate of strange green vegetables or smells something funky in the real world, his nose scrunches up tight, his tummy does a little flip, and he wants to shout "Gross!" It can be tempting to push his plate away and make a huge fuss, but Louie remembers the Golden Rule:
 
"Every guest is welcome, every guest gets a room, and nobody stays forever."
Instead of letting Disgust make a rude mess in the lobby, Louie guides him to a spotless, fresh-smelling room. By taking a deep breath of clean air, using his polite words to say "no thank you," or even trying one tiny brave bite, Louie learns that it is 100% okay to not like everything.
 
What little managers will learn in this story:
 
Identification: Recognizing the scrunched-up nose and squirmy tummy feeling of disgust in the body.
Respectful Boundaries: Understanding that it is perfectly okay to dislike something, but learning how to express that feeling politely without hurting others' feelings.
Regulation Tools: Using simple strategies (like taking a breath of fresh air, using "no thank you" words, or taking a tiny brave bite) to handle yucky moments calmly.
Understanding: Discovering that Disgust is simply trying to keep the hotel safe from bad things, and once he is given a clean space to rest, his squiggly feeling settles, and he peacefully checks out!