Last Updated: September 11, 2023
Punch!: A Story About Kindness
by Michael Hall
Badger, Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear are best friends. But when Badger experiences a personal loss and his emotions are too big to contain, he goes looking for trouble and takes his sadness out on his friends. He trips Frog, shoves Moose, kicks Elephant, and pokes Bear with a shovel. So Bear gathers the others, and they come up with a plan to teach Badger a lesson. Only that lesson is not what Badger–or readers–expect. In fact, Badger’s friends treat Badger with kindness, offering him what he needs the most to sooth his raw emotions–a surprising turn of events that Badger takes to heart when Bear needs a little comfort in return.
Something Good
by Kenneth Kraegel
Blah. Nothing good ever happens to me. This morning a little girl wakes up with a chicken on her head. (Ouch.) Then she finds worms in her cereal (after she’s had a few bites-yuck!). Then she realizes, too late, that her boots are full of mud. Ack! Then her best friend ignores her, a big hole appears where it wasn’t yesterday, and it starts to rain-cold rain, of course. Could this day get any worse? When a mysterious gift shows up out of nowhere, wrapped in a bow, the girl dares to wonder if it could finally be something good. Get ready for a high-flying tale as the beloved creator of Wild Honey from the Moon brings his signature deadpan humor, quirky charm, and appealingly simple text to a fantastical adventure sure to turn even the worst days around.
Today My Brain is a Dinosaur
by Kyla and Jedidiah Mora
A neurodivergent boy learns to use coping strategies to help him manage his unique moods.
The Drama Llama
by Rachel Morrisroe
Alex Allen, like lots of children, sometimes worries about things–like dancing badly or getting an answer wrong in class. But unlike lots of children, every time he worries a real-life llama appears! And the more Alex worries, the bigger Llama grows…which starts getting him into all sorts of trouble. Will Alex ever learn how to control his worries and get rid of this pesky llama?
How I Feel When I Hear NO
by Ronit Farzam
When a child hears their least favorite word “no,” they use imaginative metaphors to explore their anger.
Gray
by Laura Dockrill
Some days you may feel sunshine yellow or orange-balloon bright. Other days you’re gray, or even night-sky black-like a dark scribble on a page, a storm in the clouds, or a puddle in the road. Gray is when you don’t feel like yourself, or like you don’t belong. But however you feel, there are big hugs (red) and loving lullabies (blue) waiting, and even the grayest sidewalk is a canvas for you to fill with the colors you choose. A tender narration from British spoken-word poet Laura Dockrill and subtle, spare artwork from former UK Children’s Laureate Lauren Child offer a comforting read for young children that addresses feelings of sadness and assures them that they are never alone.
Mad at Dad
by Janie Hao
In this highly engaging lift-the-flap story, a young girl gets very, very MAD at her dad. Her emotions take over, and the girl doesn’t like the intensity and vastness of her feelings at all. So she tries all sorts of tricks and strategies to calm herself down: counting, jumping rope, yelling … It turns out, however, that anger isn’t always easy to get rid of, and that being mad all day is a heavy weight to carry. This lasting strain makes the girl feel sad on top of being angry. But once she and Dad have each had some time to themselves, they find comfort in each other.
El Rojo No Está Enojado, el Azul No Está Triste
de Alicia Acosta & Luis Amavisca
A estos amigos les gustan todos los colores. ¿Es el rojo el color del enojo? ¿Es el azul el color de la tristeza? El divertido grupo descubrirá que no es así. Zorro llega al parque y sus amigos le preguntan muy preocupados si se encuentra bien. Él está feliz y no entiende qué pasa. Todos están confundidos porque Zorro lleva una camiseta azul, y piensan que el azul es el color de la tristeza. Su amiga Osa le pone inmediatamente un jersey amarillo. Y cuando dice que necesita calma le pondrán algo verde, hasta que Zorro se desespera. Pero, ¿no pueden los colores ser libres? ¿Podemos disfrutar de ellos sin vincularlos a una emoción concreta? Luis Amavisca y Alicia Acosta, juntos de nuevo tras ‘¡Vivan las uñas de colores!’ y ‘La muñeca de Lucas’, en un libro que habla de la libertad de los colores. Un color no tiene por qué simbolizar una emoción. Eso nos reduce y nos quita libertad.
Cómo Dicen Estoy Enojado los Dinosaurios?
de Jane Yolen
Illustrations and rhyming text explore some of the things that dinosaurs might do when they are angry–and how they should control their tempers.
Así Me Siento Yo
escrito e ilustrado por Janan Cain; versión en español de Yanitzia Canetti
Ilustraciones y rimas demuestran las emociones que sienten los niños, tales como miedo, felicidad, tristeza y celos.