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Understanding and supporting children to address and express their feelings is an important part of their social and emotional development. Reading together and exploring language and stories can be a fantastic way of doing this in practice.
We’ve put together a roundup of recommended books that you might find helpful to support children’s emotional wellbeing.
Read more about supporting children with their emotional wellbeing by visiting pacey.org.uk/earlymindsmatter
Contents
Explaining and expressing emotions .......................................... 3
Home and family relationships .................................................. 5
Dealing with emotions and social situations ............................... 7
Transitions .............................................................................. 8
Anxiety .................................................................................... 9
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Explaining and expressing emotions
Alex and the scary things
By Melissa Moses, illustrated by Alison MacEachern
ISBN-10: 1849057931 Recommended for ages 4-8
Alex is an alligator who finds it difficult to name the strong emotions he experiences. A range of emotions are written about in this illustrated story that highlights how Alex is feeling. A fantastic resource for professionals working with children who have experienced trauma, as well as for parents and carers.
How are you feeling today?
By Molly Potter, illustrated by Sarah Jennings ISBN-10: 1472906098
Recommended for Ages 2-6
Recommended by PACEY member Susan Meadows
What do we do when we experience emotions we don’t know? We read this book! For parents and childcare professionals to read to children about naming unfamiliar emotions. The book gives fun appropriate ideas about how to deal with different
emotions.
“This one was recommended to me by my son’s school, he has autism and finds it difficult to explain feeling and would often just open the book on the page that was appropriate to his feelings for that day. You could then talk to him about why he was worried etc.”
The great big book of feelings
By Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith
ISBN-10: 1847802818
Recommended for Ages 4-8
This book is split into sections, dealing with a range of emotions. The first half of the book includes emotions: happy, sad, embarrassed, angry etc, and the last half of the book deals with sharing and doing things to make you feel better.
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How do you feel?
Cover illustration © 2011 Anthony Browne
By Anthony Browne
Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ
www.walker.co.uk
ISBN-10: 1406347914
Recommended for very young children
This book can be bought in a hardback or paperback version. It’s all about a monkey who models 14 different emotions. Check out the useful pictures that are displayed on every page in beautifully
illustrated watercolour.
A is Amazing!
By Wendy Cooling and illustrated by Piet Grobler
ISBN-10: 1847802559
Recommended for Ages 6+
A fantastic book full of poems from acclaimed poets covering a range of feelings from; amazing, bored, excited, magical, naughty, sad, to zestful. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations on every page.
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Home and family relationships
Malpas the dragon By Ann Cattanach and Michael Renouf
ISBN-10: 1843105721
Recommended for ages Ages 3-6
Malpas the dragon is angry with his parents for not caring about him and he is angry at everyone else. A useful resource for practitioners to read to children who find it difficult to create loving relationships with adults and children alike. Specifically, could be used for fostered/adopted children.
How are you feeling today baby bear? By Jane Evans
ISBN-10: 184905424X
Recommended for ages 2-6
A positive way of explaining to children about parents who verbally fight and how this affects a child. It is written to help children understand strong emotions and name how they are feeling. Notes accompany every page for adults to address and navigate difficult conversations.
Kit Kitten and the topsy-turvy feelings
By Jane Evans, illustrated by Izzy Bean
ISBN-10: 1849056021
Recommended for ages 2-6
Recommended by PACEY member Lisa Fricker
Kit Kitten and the Topsy-Turvy Feelings is a therapeutic
storybook that addresses living with a parent(s) who are
dealing with depression and whose parent isn't always able to
care for them. One day Kindly Cat appears and helps Kit to
recognise his feelings. The book also includes feelings based activities to build a child's
emotional awareness and vocabulary. Good for children with an unstable home life.”
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Guess how much I love you Cover illustration © 1994 Anita Jeram
By Sam McBratney & illustrated by Anita Jeram Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ
www.walker.co.uk ISBN-10: 0763642649
Recommended for Ages 2 -3
A beautiful book that talks about love and the reassurance children often need from their parents. A young rabbit called Little Nutbrown Hare thinks he can measure the love of Big Nutbrown
Hare by setting up boundaries. The book is full of I-can-do-better-themes and depicts a heartwarming story of love and how far it stretches between parent and child.
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Dealing with emotions and social situations
The boy who built a wall around himself By Ali Redford, illustrated by Kara Simpson
ISBN-10: 1849056838
Recommended for ages 4-9
In this story ‘Boy’ builds a wall around himself to keep himself safe, as a result he feels protected from the outside. Then Someone Kind comes along who sings and paints and the Boy wonders what life would be like outside. Simple metaphors in this book help explain painful traumatic experiences.
The huge bag of worries By Virginia Ironside, illustrated by Frank Rodgers ISBN-10: 0340903171 Recommended for Ages 3-6
Recommended by PACEY member Lisa Fricker
A fantastic book that helps young readers find their voice, it tells the story of a little girl who finds she is carrying more and more worries. Eventually her grandmother sees that she is upset and works through her worries with her.
A compelling picture book that can be used as a spring board into what worries children today. The lively, comic-style pictures and the general nature of the worries make this excellent for any number of problems. The message of the
book is clear—find someone who will listen and talk about your worries.
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Transitions
All kinds of feelings: a lift-the-flap book By Sheri Safran, illustrated by Emma Brownjohn
ISBN-10: 185707596X
Recommended for Ages 2-4
Recommended by PACEY member Lisa Fricker
A very useful book that helps children and parents to talk about how they are feeling. Specifically, very useful when the child has attended childcare away from their parent(s). A good way to discuss unfamiliar emotions and feelings, the book’s characters offer and discuss examples of how each individual might have felt when they were apart from each other. At the end of the book there is a Feelings Game which involves spinning a wheel to choose a feeling or emotion. Opposite this there is a blank
face upon which to draw the emotion for others to guess which emotion they’re drawing.
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Anxiety
Little Meerkat’s big panic By Jane Evans
ISBN-10: 1785927035
Recommended for Ages 2-6
A book for young readers, Little Meerkat is given the important position as lookout to protect his family but he falls asleep! When he wakes up everyone has disappeared. He’s scared and can’t find them.
The colourful storybook is full of playful pictures showing children how to calm down when they’re in a stressful
situation. It also includes guidance for parents or professionals on the neuroscience behind the strategies, and how they can use the book to help children.
How do you feel? By Mandy Stanley
ISBN - 0-00-777966-6 Recommended for Ages 4+
Recommended by PACEY member Susan Meadows
Learn to identify emotions by completing a facial expression puzzle. Five gameboards and 30 cards are laminated for durability and cleanliness. Photo “First Games” from Key Education are perfect for early learning. It is ideal for up to four players, ages 4 and up. Key Education products are intended to
engage and educate young learners, as well as assist childcare professionals in building a strong and developmentally appropriate activities for these children.
“I actually got my copy from Book start. It's a board book for the little ones about how the animals are feeling.”
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Hands are not for hitting By Martine Agassi, illustrated by Marieka Heinlen
ISBN-10: 157542200X
Recommended for ages 3+
Recommended by PACEY member Susan Meadows
This title offers youngsters an alternative to hitting and other forms of hurtful behavior, guiding them to a more peaceful and positive outcome in their dealings with other children. The refrain that "hands are not for hitting" is accompanied by numerous better uses for them, such as waving, helping, drawing, and making music. While the text
is didactic and too redundant to be read aloud cover to cover, the book provides an important point of departure for discussing constructive ways of coping with and resolving strong feelings such as anger, jealousy, and fear. Friendly, colorful illustrations portray children engaged in various positive activities. An extensive list of supportive ideas for grown-ups interested in promoting nonviolence is included.
This is our house Cover illustration © 1996 Bob Graham
By Michael Rosen & illustrated by Bob Graham
Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ
www.walker.co.uk
ISBN-10: 0763628166
Recommended for Ages 3-7
Recommended by PACEY member Christine Emery
Rosen and Graham use a light touch to deliver an important lesson. In the shadows of an apartment complex, redheaded George sits in his cardboard-box house and won't let any of his multicultural cadre of friends come near it. He bans them for different but always personal reasons: because they're girls, or too small, or wear glasses, etc. George's friends try to get him to open up his house by weaving him into their play: "We're coming in to fix the fridge," announce twins Charlene and Marlene, while Luther sends his toy airplane crashing into the house and tells George that he must rescue it. But George will not budge until, finally, nature calls. Taking over the house, his friends turn the tables on George and force him to see the error of his ways.
“Michael Rosen is one of my favourites. This book touches on discrimination because George won't let the other children in to play for various reasons such as they wear glasses, have red hair, too small etc - I use this book a lot to talk about feelings and how it feels when someone is unkind.“
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PACEY is the Professional Association for Childcare and
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A standard-setting organisation, we promote best practice and support childcare professionals to deliver high standards of care and learning. Since 1977 we have provided high quality support to our members and worked with government, local authorities and others to raise standards.
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