Hey, look at that rainbow! How beautiful it is, right?
Have you ever wondered how it would have looked like if rainbow had only one color? I’m very sure that rainbow wouldn’t have been that beautiful. It wouldn’t have been that unique. Our emotions are like rainbows. Each emotion has its own significance and uniqueness just like the different colors of a rainbow.
Kids need to understand the spectrum of emotions to understand themselves and others better.
15 books to help your child understand emotions
Here are our top picks for books to help your child understand emotions.
Big Feelings, by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
This book by Alexandra Penfold is a wonderful book for young kids to understand their big emotions and power of empathy. This book acquaints kids with the concept of different emotions and highlights “how natural big emotions are”. It is very normal to feel happy at one point and frustrated on the other, peaceful at one point and then suddenly become angry, etc. These are big emotions and experiencing all of these is normal.
How Are You Feeling Today? By Molly Potter and Sarah Jennings
We all have various emotions on regular basis and so do kids. It is equally natural for them. This is a sticker and activity book that helps kids identify which emotion they are feeling at a particular point of time . It also provides tips for parents about emotional intelligence and how they can develop their kid’s emotional intelligence. The book attempts to acquaint kids with the fact that there are different types of emotions and someday you may be comfortable with them and someday may be uncomfortable and that it is fine to feel this way.
My Feelings by Saskia Gwinn
Playing with friends can make kids happy. But when they lose a game, they suddenly become sad. Being bullied can make them angry. Do you know why? This book is perfect to answer this question. This book introduces different emotions that children might face and why. It also explains how to talk about emotions, share feelings and celebrate them. The lovely illustrations make it an amazing first book for kids to learn about emotions.
Sometimes I Am Angry by Campbell books, illustrations by Marie Pruitt
Some emotions make us feel good while others don’t. Anger is one such unpleasant emotion. This book is perfect for your kid to understand the concept of anger, its causes, and coping mechanisms to calm themselves. This book also helps them develop emotional intelligence and guides parents on how to manage kids’ anger. This is an interactive book and helps kids engage with the book by lifting flaps, sliding tabs and sinning the wheel. You can also check out the other books in the Little Big Feelings series: I Like to be Kind, Sometimes I am Worried and When I am Happy.
Perfectly Norman: A Big Bright Feelings Book by Tom Percival
This is a book by Tom Percival where a kid named Norman suddenly develops wings one day and feels anxious about what others would think. What his parents will think? So, he tries to cover the wings with his coat. This book teaches your kids that one should embrace their individuality and uniqueness, be their authentic selves and respect themselves for who they are. Being different from others is normal, and one must not feel ashamed for being different.
Be Brave Little Penguin by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
“Be Brave Little Penguin” by Giles Andreae is an enchanting rhyming tale about Little Penguin Pip-Pip, who dreams of swimming with friends but fears the water. With heartwarming encouragement, Pip-Pip finds the courage to take the plunge. From the creators of the bestselling “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” this touching story emphasizes confidence and self-esteem. Perfect for family storytime, it’s bound to become a cherished favorite.
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