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Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Emotions

11 Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Big Emotions

Posted on June 3, 2019February 14, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

I’ve received a pile of new, great picture books that deal with feelings that formed the basis for this booklist. When I think of emotions and kids, the book that pops into my mind is When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry. It’s a picture book with illustrations that explode with emotion makes it especially powerful and memorable. I think we’ve all dealt with children expressing anger and frustration so it’s not surprising that several books with this theme came out recently.

How about you? What picture books about emotions do you like? Thanks for sharing!

p.s. Related posts:

Top 10 Children’s Books: Trying Out New (Bad) Behavior

Starting Kindergarten and Preschool Books (a lot of books on this list cover anxiety)

Multicultural Starting School Picture BooksHelpful Books for Kids during COVID

Picture Books About Anxiety for Kids Who Worry

Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Emotions

 

11 Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Big Emotions

 

The Great Grrrrr by Marie-Sabine Roger, illustrated by Marjolaine Leray

The Great Grrrr goes through so many different emotions. At first, he is happy and excited to be delivering a small wrapped package. When no one answers the door, he feels frustrated. When it starts to rain and he gets wet, he starts to feel angry. It becomes too much for him and he lets out all his rage by smashing the little cottage. But when he discovers the owner and the gift inside the package, he feels happy again. And also creative and industrious since he decides to rebuild her home into a lovely castle. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

The Great Grrrrr by Marie-Sabine Roger

Angry Cookie by Laura Dockrill, illustrated by Maria Karipidou

Cookie woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Cookie warns the reader that it is very, very angry and that the reader is not welcome to hang around. But as the reader turns the page, Cookie starts to open up about the source of its anger. It started with a bad recorder performance by Cookie’s roommate and it just snowballed from there. But as Cookies relays the source of its frustration, talking to the reader helps it a lot. And that’s the message of the book. A good listener can be a good friend by just listening and being there. And that’s how the cookie crumbles and why the cookie’s glass goes from being empty to full. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

Angry Cookie by Laura Dockrill and Maria Karipidou

When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry by Molly Bang

An explosive temper can be scary for both the child and the people witnessing it. When Sophie gets angry over sharing a stuffed animal, she really loses it, and it takes time to run away outdoors to recenter herself and that can be one solution to handling strong emotions. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry by Molly Bang

The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock

It can be tough to get someone out of a bad mood. A food offering might help, but sometimes that doesn’t work. Hugs can help more than nudges. Distractions and karaoke are strategies to try. This picture book invites the reader to think of ways to get kids out of a grumpy mood while also showing that moods, both good and bad, can rub off. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon by Matthew Burgess and Fiona Woodcock

Grumpy Duck by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Petr Horacek

Duck’s grumpy mood is visible in the form of a dark cloud floating overhead that grows in size in sync with Duck’s mood. Duck’s friends want to help but Duck rejects their overtures. The cloud over Duck grows and grows until it affects everyone. When the cloud turns dark and bursts with water, suddenly Duck isn’t grumpy anymore. As Duck frolics in the rain, everyone starts to join in. The big dark cloud disappears and in its place is a rainbow. Use this picture book to discuss whether or not grumpiness is contagious. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

Grumpy Duck by Joyce Dunbar and Petr Horacek

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Here’s another classic to discuss grouchy bullies with kids. The Grouchy Ladybug doesn’t want to share and flies off in a huff when the other ladybug stands up to it.  As the Grouchy Ladybug takes on other creatures during her journey, kids are exposed to the concept of time and relative size. At the core of the story is the message of good manners and gratitude. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz

Angry Cookie and Alexander have a lot in common as both wake up to a very bad day. I think it’s the humor that makes this book about grouchiness a classic! [picture book, ages 6 and up]

One Mean Ant by Arthur Yorinks, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier

A really mean Ant gets lost in a desert when a fly lands beside it. The ant is mean to the fly, but the fly ends up solving the ant’s problem, including one that the ant didn’t realize it had. This is a fun book to discuss crankiness and what the root cause might be. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

One Mean Ant by Arthur Yorinks and Sergio Ruzzier

When Sadness Is At Your Door by Eva Eland

When sadness strikes, this picture book offers sound advice:

  • give sadness a name
  • listen to it
  • identify the cause
  • try doing something enjoyable
  • take a walk
  • let it stay until it is ready to leave

This is all good advice for young children learning to cope with grief. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland

Quiet Please, Owen McPhee by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton

Owen likes to talk. He talks so much that it gets in the way of his ability to listen. When Owen contracts laryngitis, he learns how frustrating it is to try to be heard and learns the power of being a good listener. Use this book to discuss social dynamics in a classroom or a group of children. This can be used to help kids handle frustration with classmates with impulse control issues. [picture book, ages 5 and up]

Quiet Please, Owen McPhee! by Trudy Ludwig and Patrice Barton

The Color Monsters: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings by Anna Llenas

The Color Monster is feeling all mixed up with jumbled-up emotions. Each color is associated with an emotion. Young kids will enjoy the vibrant pop-up art as they help identify emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and calm. [pop-up picture book, ages 3 and up]

The Color Monsters: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings by Anna Llenas

 

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Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Emotions

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1 thought on “11 Picture Books for Kids to Discuss Big Emotions”

  1. Terry says:
    June 3, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Do you know Anh’s Anger by Gail Silver? https://thereadingtub.org/sf/reviews/show/ANHS-ANGER-by-Gail-Silver. From my review: “This is a lovely story. There are lots of kids books about feelings, but this one sets itself apart. I like that the kids can “see” anger both figuratively (in the monster) and literally (in Anh’s behavior). The monster is not over-the-top and in fact, helps Anh (as opposed to encouraging him to get angry again). The collage illustrations really add to the story.”

    Reply

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