The Great Big Book of Feelings

PreS-Gr 2—Cheery endpapers with rows of faces and small drawings depicting a wide assortment of emotions set the tone for this lighthearted companion to The Great Big Book of Families (Dial, 2011). The first spread offers framed pictures of children's faces showing different expressions and the caption, "How do you feel today? How do you think these children are feeling?" After that, 19 feelings are showcased. The headings are fancifully drawn to correspond with each expression and are followed by an array of people who exemplify it. Short sentences explain why children might feel a certain way, and whimsical borders surround the pages to further highlight each mood. Children of various cultures and physical abilities are included in the busy watercolor drawings. The book covers many emotions familiar to youngsters, some of which are discussed on a spread (happy, sad, interested, angry, silly, lonely, etc.) and some of which are paired with other feelings (excited-bored, upset-calm, shy-confident, scared-safe). The best part of the presentation might be the validation that "you can feel lots of different things at the same time. Or lots of different ways in one day." This book is a good choice for one-on-one sharing, but Aliki's Feelings (Greenwillow, 1984) is still the gold standard.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT