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abc of feelings and more picture books for exploring emotions

ABC of Feelings written and illustrated by Bonnie Lui (2020).

This picture book is, as the title suggests, an alphabet depicting 26 different feelings, from anxious to zany with delightful illustrations. It’s a useful compendium for kids to learn the names of specific emotions and to understand the breadth of theirs—and how that spectrum of feelings is totally okay, expected, important to name and know and explore.

In a few instances of Bonnie Lui’s book, the two sides of a spread serve as question and answer or are related in some way—and those are most effective and engaging. For example, kids who are SCARED on their own at a campout experience the feeling of being TRUSTING on the opposite side when they join a parent, snuggly in bed together.

 

My favorite spread is the pairing of WISHFUL and XENIAL, the second a word I didn’t know, because it tells a complete story that is unexpected, sweet, and magical.

Overall, ABC of Feelings shows kids that feelings come in all kinds and that they’re part of life—to be noticed, celebrated, expressed, and sometimes soothed.

 

Big thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy and images!

 

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And ABC of Feelings is also a good jumping off point to explore more books and feelings with kids!

 

Here are 20 picture books that explore feelings of all kinds either directly or embedded in the story: longing, grief, disappointment, love, hurt, pride, sadness, loss, uncertainty, fear, worry, misery, hope, inspiration, happiness, curiosity, and joy.  These titles (and others) may be useful for discussions with kids about how they’re feeling.

You might ask a child: “What is the character feeling? How do you know? Do you ever feel like that? What are you feeling today, right now? Would you like to draw your feeling? To write about it? To sing a song? To tell me how it feels or why it might be here? I will share my feelings too.”

In a recent Washington Post article by Lakshmi Gandhi, “Books Can Be An Entry to Talking About Sadness with Your Child,” the writer interviews Erin Entrada Kelly, Tracy Subisak (creator of Jenny Mei Is Sad from this list), and Christine Day about their children’s books and the difficult feelings they explore with authenticity and compassion.

Books, indeed, are conduits of connection to the internal lives of characters that reflect the internal lives of us all. 

Here’s the list:

I Wish You Knew written by Jackie Azúa Kramer illustrated by Magdalena Mora (2021).

The Longest Letsgoboy written by Derick Wilder illustrated by Cátia Chien (2021).

When I See Red by Britta Teckentrup (2021).

Jenny Mei Is Sad by Tracy Subisak (2021).

Wounded Falcons by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng (2021).

 Saturday by Oge Mora (2019).

My Love for You Is Always written by Gillian Sze, illustrated by Michelle Lee (2021).

Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelley Anand, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali (2020)

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and  David Litchfield (2020).

Bindu’s Bindi’s by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Parvati Pillai (2021).

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld (2018).

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, art by Hatem Aly (2019).

Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna (2018).

Birdsong by Julie Flett (2019).

Don’t Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton (2020).

The Happiness of a Dog with a Ball in Its Mouth by Bruce Handy and Hyewon Yum (2021).

Great Big Feelings series.

Boogie, Boogie, Y’all by C.G. Esperanza (2021).

 

I hope you’ll share some feelings-related books in the comments too! What is a picture book you know and love that explores emotions?