Little kids are full of big emotions. Big emotions can be so hard to manage, but before a child (or adult for that matter) can really begin to manage them we need to be able to identify them. In addition to helping children identify their emotions, giving them the words to use to express them (or other means of expressing them) is also a huge step towards helping them manage them. Below are books that are perfect for both of those goals. They all cover multiple emotions and help children not only gain a better understanding of them, but empower them with words/ways to express them. We love each one of these books for different reasons and hope that you find them useful in your home as well.
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“In My Heart: A Book of Feelings” by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey- This series is one of my favorites and this feelings book is possibly my favorite of them all. The heart cutouts on the thick pages help it feel extra special.
“Inspector Croc’s Emotion-O-Meter” by Susanna Isern and Rebecca Packard- This book is packed with examples of different emotions and how to recognize which one you may be feeling. It also has an interactive “emotion meter” in the back for kids to practice with. So useful!
“I Feel Teal” by Lauren Rille and Aimée Sicuro- This book associates different feelings with different colors, it doesn’t explain them really, but keeps the concept simple and clear.
“Glad Monster, Sad Monster” by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda- This book is so clever in its design! It talk about several emotions one at a time and has fold out pages that you can put over your face like a mask for each one. Love!
“My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Seuss and Steve Johnson- A book about feelings by Suess?! Of course! This one relates colors to emotions too and is a great overview.
“The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain- This book explains different emotions through vibrant illustrations and short poems. It is a beautiful way to help kids gain an understanding of what they are feeling.
“The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Fellings” by Anna Llenas- This book has incredible pop-up features and uses colors to help describe different emotions. It is so wall done and so captivating.
“Niko Draws a Feeling” by Bob Raczka and Simone Shin- This book is great for introducing the idea that abstract art can be used to express feelings. It gives children a good idea for an outlet for feelings that can be hard to describe or talk about.
“Feelings: Inside my Heart and In My Head…” by Richard Jones (illustrator) Libby Waldent This beauty is a lyrical and beautiful tribute to the range of feelings that we experience and is gorgeous! (And you see that cut-out? It goes all the way through the book!) The text and illustrations have me smitten and we’ve already read it a bunch.
“A Little Book about Feelings” by Abbie Schiller and Sam Kurtzman-Counter- This book is a wonderful comprehensive book to help children to not only understand different emotions, but what emotions are in general and the fact that we all experience them. A great one to build understanding.
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