Book Review - The Way I Feel

I haven't had much time for reading lately - I'm caught up on all my blog subscriptions, and that's about it. So I thought I'd review a children's book today. The Way I Feel by Janan Cain was the first book I spied on our coffee table that seemed most appropriate for a Simple Life shout out.

The cover pretty much says it all. This book is well written and well illustrated for children like my daughter who have "BIG feelings." There is seldom a mediocre tone happening around our house. With two two-year-olds testing the waters and a child that struggles to self-regulate we have drama in every corner. From pretty normal sibling squabbles over whose turn it is to play with THE coveted toy (in a house overrun by toys, by the way) to ecstatic spinning and laughing as we careen around the house before Mom makes us go outside (and that's just the first half hour of the day) we've got emotions coming out our ears. Really.

The fun thing about this book is that the characters in here have BIG feelings, too. "Positive" and "Negative" are given pretty equal showing. Silly, scared, disappointed, happy, sad, angry, thankful, frustrated, shy, bored, excited, jealous, proud, are each represented and respected with a diverse and expressive group of kids. In the end:

"Feelings come and feelings go.
I never know what they'll be.
Silly or angry, happy or sad -
They're all a part of me!"

I think reading this book has given my daughter some emotional vocabulary beyond "happy, sad, and angry." I hope by continuing to read it she can learn to match some of the facial expressions to the emotions. Regardless I'm glad for the simple message that feelings, no matter how big they are, should be expressed, but in appropriate and expected ways.

As a bonus (as you can see from the excerpt) the text is written in rhyme - without any stretch or strain to make it work. The illustrations are colorful and beautiful. I have been very pleased to have this one in our library.

Have you read this one? What do you think? Drop me a comment below!