Picture books exploring emotions are a fantastic resource to have in all libraries. At times children may not want to discuss their feelings openly but through sharing books and fictional stories where feelings are explored, you may just find they open up a little more. I find such books a positive resource when teaching. I’ll be adding more books to this piece so do a keep a look out.
My Book Of Feelings.

An interactive book exploring feelings with a spinner of various faces. There’s also a mirror at the back so a face can be put to the readers own feelings.
The book really encourages readers to think about how they feel with different things. There is no right answer and the book highlights that each one of us is unique and we may not feel the same in certain scenarios. How do they feel when it’s snowing? What face do you make when you see certain foods? When you see a picture of a puppy what face do you do?
The book itself is a prompt, a conversation starter of feelings. It’s a big topic to explore after all and that’s why I think it would be lovely to use in an early years setting and at home.
There are many different learning opportunities, for example the way in which question words are explored and the reading of the faces themselves, a skill some children need more time to understand.
The colours of the faces on the spinner vary depending on the emotion with colours such as red representing angry. Red in some cultures is deemed as a happy, lucky colour so it made me think perhaps the faces would have been better natural? Just me thinking out loud but equally the topic of colours would be a great topic for discussion, particularly when you explore phrases such as “feeling blue?” And the sad face is actually blue too.
A great book for preschoolers and up.
Feelings
An exploration of feelings for the youngest of readers.
This little board book looks at various emotions including happiness, sadness and jealousy. Along the way there are questions to prompt discussions and it gives practical tips on what readers can do when their feeling a particular emotion. For example, if you’re feeling scared one suggestion is to sing a song or to tell someone.
Many children will see themselves illustrated in this book including children with glasses, children who use a hearing aid and children of different ethnicities. I’m sure you’ll agree the illustrations are very sweet and in keeping with its target audience.
This would be a fantastic resource for home and in early learning and preschool.
Feelings by Libby Walden and illustrated by Richard Jones
Not only does this book explore the meaningful topic of feelings, at every turn of page you are presented with wonderful illustrations that represent an emotion brilliantly.
The book is utterly enchanting for young and older readers but at the heart of it all lies an important message. Though someone may be smiling beneath the surface they may be experiencing an emotion that doesn’t reflect their smile. Each one of us are different and though we may be sat beside each other we can each be experiencing a completely different emotion and we all, young and old, need to be mindful of that.
The book highlights various emotions with eloquence and rhyme alongside beautiful art work. The cut out peek through silhouette of the young boy adds more intrigue and is representative of the various emotions we may experience during our day. Perhaps he is also sharing that although we may experience these feelings, sharing it with others, as he is witness to on each double spread, is not a weakness.
Disclaimer: I received these books for the purpose of review from the individual publishers. All words and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.