To Do: Add a few books about emotions to your repertoire.
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Books, see suggestions below
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Books are the perfect tools to begin speaking about feelings with young children. Through images and text, your child will begin to identify the emotions that we all feel!

Try adding a few of the books below to your home library. Read them in moments of quiet and calm, but use the same vocabulary you learn from the books when your young child is feeling some emotions of their own.

Toddlers and Babies:

“Baby Faces” by Margaret Miller: A great book for the youngest of children. Use one word descriptions and point at the faces: Sad, happy, excited!

“Lots of Feelings” by Shelley Rotner: Another great visual representation of emotions, plus lots of diversity.

3-6 Year Olds

“Feelings” by Aliki: A whimsical look at the wide range of emotions humans feel.

“The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain: Use this book to begin describing your own emotions! Practice the expression, “I feel…” or “When this happens, I feel…”

“On Monday When it Rained” by Cherryl Kachenmeister: This is a nice reminder that feelings change often, sometimes within the space of minutes!

Here’s another great resource for books about feelings from the website Zero to Three. Check it out for more inspiration!

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