Picture Books and Feelings

For awhile, I thought I might not find enough good picture books about feelings to share, but that hasn't been a problem. There are so many, I will post one or two at a time throughout the month. I'm including both of these in my lesson plans.

How Are You Peeling? Food with Moods By Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Children seem to love this book, but I would guess their focus is on the illustrations rather than the words. That’s ok because the feelings are clearly illustrated, even though they are made from food. It is a good book to attract children who need a little extra to draw them in at story time. Showing the pictures and discussing them before reading the story, may be the best way to introduce it. You may even find it valuable to draw a smiley face ( and other iconic faces) and discussing what feeling the icon represents. Afterwards, children may want to play a game, much like charades, in which a child makes a face and others guess how he or she is feeling. You may want to share the book with parents and encourage them to work with children to make faces on food. This could be a great extension for families which celebrate Halloween.

Angry Dragon by Thierry Robberecht is the story of a very angry boy who says he turns into a dragon when he gets angry. The little boy expresses his feelings as he goes from becoming angry to again being calm and able to allow his parents to comfort him. Phille Goosens illustrates the boy's feelings in a clear way. After reading the story, children will probably want to discuss how they feel when they become angry. I think the real value in the story is in helping children see they are not the only ones who have strong , hard to control feelings. Teachers may want to discuss appropriate ways to handle anger. In small groups, children could draw how they feel when angry and then how they feel when calm.