Feelings can be hard to navigate, especially when we go through multiple feelings day to day. In turn, teaching children healthy ways to identify, communicate, and express their feelings can be just as difficult! So we’ve rounded up four children’s books to help kids understand their feelings and learn different ways to express them. Each book includes key social emotional learning (SEL) lessons. Read these books and have a “Feelings Check-In” with your family.

The Weeping Wombat by Tracey Hecht, illustrated by Josie Yee

Everybody cries sometimes, and that is okay! Sometimes we cry when we’re sad, sometimes we cry when we’re happy, and sometimes we cry when we’re overwhelmed. In The Weeping Wombat, kids learn that crying is one way to express how you feel, just like laughing.
SEL Lesson: You can express your sad feelings with a good cry and start to feel better, too.

This book provides an opportunity to talk about worry and anxiety. Ruby experiences worry but doesn’t know how to identify it. As a result, her worry grows and grows until she is completely overwhelmed. It isn’t until Ruby meets another boy with a worry that she realizes everyone experiences this feeling.
SEL Lesson: Talking about your worries with a friend makes them more manageable. 

The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock

Have you ever been in a bad mood? Have you been around someone in your family with a bad mood? In this book, two siblings learn how hard it can be to shake oneself or someone else out of a bad mood. Unhappiness transfers from one child to another, so they work together to find a solution.
SEL Lesson: Bad moods don’t last forever, especially if you try to focus on things that bring happiness.

Kids become overwhelmed with their feelings when they don’t know how to express them. Clinical Psychologist Melissa Boyd uses the alphabet to teach children different ways to handle their feelings in a healthy manner. This book offers multiple outlets and encourages positive behaviors.
SEL Lesson: Expressing feelings is healthier than keeping them inside, and there are many ways to show what you are feeling with others.