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 (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A smorgasbord of thoughts and pictures about a variety of feelings. "How do you feel today?" the author asks. Framed portraits, more than a dozen over one spread, show children expressing a range of feelings. "It isn't always easy to tell." (A statement belied by this array of evocative faces.) Following this introduction, several double-page spreads put a feeling at the top of the left-hand page and fill the rest with examples in text and illustration. (Some opposites, like shy and confident, merit a facing page each.) Design choices add impact; the letters of sad seem to droop within a cloud of blue, while happy has dancing letters in a field of yellow bordered by multicolor fringe. The other 13 feelings include such usual suspects as scared, silly and angry, as well as some not so often plumbed, such as satisfied, jealous and embarrassed. It all ends with a big illustration of a handful of children putting the finishing touches on a big mural of several children displaying their feelings. Thanks to the abundance of examples, the book is predictably hit-and-miss; should interested be identified as a feeling? Too, the text is sometimes starchy and seems aimed at an older audience than the illustrations. Well-intentioned but only intermittently effective. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.