But all small children seem to be fascinated by books about emotion. I suspect this is because mastering their emotions is one of the big challenges of their young lives, and they want all the help they can get.
Think about it -- did the adults in your life help you to feel good about your emotions and learn to manage them productively? Sending you to your room to calm down doesn't count; that just taught you that you're alone with your scary feelings and that they're unacceptable, and made it more likely you would manage your emotions with food or other destructive habits later in life.
We teach children about emotion every day, when we help them understand what they're feeling and express it constructively. (Of course, what constructive means will evolve as kids get older.) But we can give ourselves, and our child, a lot of help by reading them books about emotion.
Recommended Books for Kids:
- For books on friendship, please see our recommendations in the age-specific articles at How to Raise a Socially Intelligent Child.
- For books on how to help children with frustration and anger, please see the recommended books at 10 Tips to Help Your Child With Anger.
- For books on how to help children with anxiety, please see the recommended books at the bottom of Helping Your Child with Anxiety.
Below, you'll find books to help kids understand feelings. These are Amazon links with photos of the books. If you are not seeing them on your page, it may be that your browser is not picking them up. Please try a different browser.
And here's a downloadable pdf list of books that you can take with you to the library!
Books That Help Kids Develop Emotional Intelligence
Books About the Parent-Child Relationship
Books to Help Children Develop Confidence and Resourcefulness
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