Products I Love
Building Emotional Literacy
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings
Ages: 2-4 years
This is one of the first books of feeling I read with my daughter--and it soon became a part of our bedtime routine. It is a beautiful book portraying the many different feelings we feel. It’s beautifully illustrated as well.
The Pout Pout Fish
Ages: 0-4 years
Pouts don’t last forever! This is a really cute rhyming book that shows little ones that even the gloomiest of feelings don’t last forever. A very popular, bestselling book that is part of an entire series (also very cute and relatable to toddler topics!)
The Color Monster
Ages: 4-8 years
An adorable and interactive read on helping a confused monster to sort out a whole mish mosh of feelings by describing and sorting each one out through a specific color. Love this book to help build emotional literacy with your child!
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Ages: 5-9 years
One of my childhood favorites! This is a light-hearted and funny book about a boy who is just having such a bad day--and the message behind the story is that some days are like that! I think we can all relate to those crappy days where nothing seems to go right...well they happen to kids too, and it feels so good to be able to show our kids this! This is one of my daughter’s favorite picks!
I’m Happy-Sad Today: Making Sense of Mixed-Together Feelings
Ages: 3-8 years
I love that this book is not just about emotions but about having layered emotions! Mixed feelings are so normal but can be confusing. Happy, and also sad. Excited, but nervous too. Feeling friendly, with a little shyness mixed in. What the little girl in the story concludes is that having more than one feeling at a time is okay--and that she doesn’t have to choose between them!
The Snurtch
Ages: 4-8 years
This book is going to resonate with every kid! It’s a light-hearted story about a girl having problems at school but the only one getting in her way is the snurtch-- which is really about how hard it can be to control our behaviors when big emotions get in the way. Very relatable read!
The Boring Book
Ages: 5-8 years
“I’M BOREDDDDD”- I mean who hasn’t heard this a thousand times from their child!? I love this topic of boredom and that not many other books address! The story follows a boy who is bored only to discover that there is way more to boredom that meets the eye!
Today I Feel Silly
Ages: 4-8 years
We LOVE this one and read it on repeat (I even know it all by memory). Such a fun and lighthearted book on all of our different moods and emotions, as well as the things that trigger those feelings. It’s also an acceptance of all feelings as being okay and a part of life. Very cute read!
When Sadness is at Your Door
Ages: 3-7 years
One of my favorite poems is by Rumi and is called “The Guest House.” It’s about perceiving all emotions as visitors guiding us intuitively, and encouraging us to welcome them. This book looks at very tricky feelings, sadness, as a visitor too, and takes a look at how to approach this visit when it comes. Such an important book for building emotional literacy in my opinion!
The Lion Inside
Ages: 3-5 years
Even the smallest of beings have an inner lion inside their hearts, and even the largest of beings can be scared. This is a GREAT book about learning to not judge a book by it’s cover but also about the power of courage lies within every single person. I love the message of this story so much!
Waiting is Not Easy!
Ages: 2-6 years
Waiting is SOOOO tricky for little ones--even for us grown ones sometimes! This is such a cute story depicting how difficult it is to wait for something exciting (which at the end is totally worth the wait). My daughter loved this simple read and then we adopted the language in real time and always talk about how waiting is not easy!
The Boy with Big, Big Feelings
Ages: 4-8 years
This one is SO great for all kids who have big, intense feelings and especially for kids who are more highly sensitive. The story will feel normalizing to your kids and also help them with healthy ideas for coping with our very big feelings (hint: not by keeping them all shoved inside).
Too Many Bubbles: A Story about Mindfulness
Ages: 4-8 years
This story teaches social emotional skills like mindfulness, empathy, bravery, and creativity by following Izzy and her thought bubbles that just won’t seem to go away (and cast a shadow over her day). This is a great intro into mindfulness for little ones!
Catching Thoughts
Ages: 4-8 years
For every child who has been weighed down by sadness or anxiety, this story teaches kids how to acknowledge unwanted thoughts, show them compassion, then actively replace them with positive thoughts instead. Catching Thoughts is a quiet, thoughtful story that teaches readers how to practice mindfulness, focusing on thoughts that bring beauty, joy, and calm into their lives.
The Crayon’s Book of Feelings
Ages: 3-5 years
Cute basic intro board book to feelings and emotions. I love his other books for older ones (“The Day the Crayons Quit” and “The Day The Crayons Came Home”). With my child clients we do a lot of feeling associations with colors and use art to express them so I think this would be a great book for that theme!
The Day the Crayons Quit
Ages: 3-8 years
We LOVE this book so so much. It is fun, funny, emotional, and a great resource for teaching kids to understand the perspectives and feelings of others. This is a great book for discussions that lead to empathy-building. Highly recommended!
The Feeling Flower
Ages: 3-5 years
It's a sweet short story about Zippy the flower who feels many emotions based on the weather. This is a simple-to-understand book that will help your child's development and understanding of their own feelings and expression with their emotions.
The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle
Ages: 4-7 years
I love that this book addresses a feeling we don’t talk about much in our society--Jealousy! Jealousy is a normal, healthy feeling and the sooner we explore it with our kids, the better they will be able to navigate it. This is great for kids who compare themselves to others or struggle with sibling jealousy.
My Mouth is a Volcano
Ages: 5-8 years
A great book for dealing with impulsive reactions to anger. It shows us what happens when our mouths explode with words like volcanoes and the consequences of our actions. It’s a cute way to teach kids to be more mindful with their words even through their anger.
What Should Danny Do?
Ages: 3-9 years
So great for socio-emotional skill building! This interactive book teaches kids the connection between their choices and their consequences, ultimately, shaping their days. Written in a "Choose Your Own Story" style, the book follows Danny, a Superhero-in-Training, through his day as he encounters choices that kids face on a daily basis. As your children navigate through the different story lines, they will begin to realize that their choices for Danny shaped his day into what it became. And in turn, their choices for themselves will shape their days, and ultimately their lives, into what they will be.