A sample of books focused on feelings to use with individual students, small groups, and in class lessons to support self regulation, emotional identification and growth.

WHEN SOPHIE’S FEELINGS ARE REALLY, REALLY HURT by Molly Bang

The sequel to When Sophie Gets Angry  is even better than the original. Sophies art teacher encourages the class to paint a tree that represents a place they love and feel calm. Ever the artist (and future counselor I think), Sophie paints her tree in colors that represent how she feels, but a classmate thinks that is silly and teases her. This book tackles common scenario in elementary school settings in a bright, cheerful way.

Activity: Scholastic created this amazing FREEBIE page that encourages students to color their feelings, just as Sophie did.

BRAVE by Stacy McAnulty

Being brave is more than just facing your fears. Explore what it means to be brave with this picture book guaranteed to make you smile.

Activity: Follow @stacymcanulty on Twitter. Ask students to complete the sentence “I am brave when..” by drawing or writing. Share their answers with the hashtag #IamBraveWhen.

For small groups partner it with my Knights of the Round Table small group pack. Find scraps of cloth or fabric at your local Goodwill, Old Time Pottery, etc. and have students create their own capes. If your school allows, have students dress up like their favorite hero.

EVEN SUPERHEROES HAVE BAD DAYS by Shelly Becker

 Superheroes have super powers, which means if they have a bad day they could really make a mess. However, a super hero is super special, because they regulate their strong feelings.

Activity: Check out Counselor Keri’s awesome superhero activity.

 

 

 

THE FEELINGS BOOK by Todd Parr

Like all of his books, this books is a fun and vibrant way to share all of our different feelings.

Activity: I got this idea from our art teacher. She used “found objects” like caps, old pencils, and toilet paper rolls and had students dip the end into paint. Then they used the objects to create faces of different feelings.