5 Best Children’s Books About Feelings and Emotions
Written by Elen Fichou
Children’s books about feelings and emotions can play an important role in supporting children’s emotional wellbeing, confidence and communication skills. Through gentle storytelling, young readers can learn to recognise, understand and express emotions in a healthy way while developing empathy and emotional resilience. Emotional literacy books also help parents, guardians, caretakers and teachers start meaningful conversations with children about big feelings, worries and everyday experiences, creating a safe and comforting space for learning and growth. Here are some wonderful children’s books that explore different emotions and help young readers better understand themselves and the world around them.
Anger is a tricky emotion as it is often disregarded by adults, yet they should take the time to understand where it comes from and how it can be gently dealt with. Teddy The Terrible, by Christian Jolibois and Marianne Barcilon, is a lovely story which will teach children that oftentimes, anger is caused by something deeper and it is more important to lend an ear than to quickly judge. Teddy is a small bear, but a big bully, he’s always angry and loves to pick on everyone. But when he meets a bigger bear, he gets a… kiss! Maybe he was always angry because no one was showing him love after all.
As opposed to anger, joy is much welcomed. But what to do when it disappears? A Very Very Happy Book by Halyna Budilova is the story of Joylina, who wants to stay happy forever but when her joy suddenly slips away, she sets off on a magical adventure to find it again. This interactive picture book features simple mindfulness-inspired activities, such as creating paper suns and a Joy Jar, encouraging children to explore positive emotions and discover their own ways of finding joy in everyday life.
Not finding one’s joy can be scary, just as much as a dark forest. In Into the Forest, Anthony Brownesmartly revisists the tale of Little Red Riding Hood with the story of a child going into the eerie forest to bring a pie to his grandma. Turns out the forest is not that scary and grandma’s weird voice only means she’s a bit sick! This picture book teaches children how anxiety and fear are often things we make up in our minds and can be overcome.
Being scared and worried are emotions that are quite similar, thus it is essential to talk about both. In Ruby's worry, by Tom Percival, Ruby is a little girl who one day sees a worry appear. The more she ignores, the more it grows, until she meets a boy who also has a worry. Together they learn that talking about it is the best way to make it disappear. This picture book gently teaches children that it is important to talk about your problems, and while it doesn’t prevent worries from coming back, it makes it easier for them to go away.
Finally, one of the most complicated feelings is grief. As both adults and children, no one really knows how to deal with it, yet it is part of life and has to be explored. That is why Is It Asleep? by Olivier Tallec explores death and grief with dry humour and heartwarming illustrations. It explains that life is a cycle, and that even if saying goodbye is not easy, we must cherish the memories we have of our loved ones. The picture book follows two friends who want to go play with their bird friend. However, when they get to him, he seems to be sleeping, so they wait and wait and wait for him to wake up, and discover what grief is.
These children’s books about emotions can help young readers better understand themselves, their feelings and the world around them. Stories are often a gentle and accessible way to start important conversations between adults and children about worries, fears and everyday challenges, making difficult emotions feel less overwhelming and easier to talk about.
