7 Books With Fantastic Stories For The Young Ones Part 2

Hello, it’s me (Eliana), back at it again with another blog about some good ol’ books for feelings. Soooo, welcome to part 2 of the Fantastic Stories series.

I will always stand behind the fact of books being a great resource for learning. There are lessons that kids can use with their imagination.

Why can books be helpful?

Great question. Books can be helpful because they bring a powerful insight to the kids reading it. These books are put into much simpler terms and ideas to make it easier for kids to understand.

Book Number One: Listening to My Body

This book, written by Gabi Garcia, is a great introduction to sensations. Oftentimes, we feel something in our body that we “ignore”. It's easier to think more about what’s going on in front of us, then pay attention to what our body is trying to tell us.

This book helps kids understand the connection between their feelings and their physical sensations. This helps kids figure out what would be helpful in the moment if they need to calm their body down. This book even included body movement examples so kids can feel certain sensations in the moment and talk about them.

Book Number Two: Buckets, Dippers, and Lids: Secrets to Your Happiness

In part 1 of this blog series, I wrote about the connecting story “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?”. Both books are written by Carol McCloud and both books bring great feelings to life.

Here is a little summary of part 1 in case you haven’t read it yet:

This story encourages positive behavior in a colorful way. If we look into the modeling for this book, it models how easy it is to be kind, appreciative, and love. This book mentions that everyone has an invisible bucket. For this book, (Have You Filled a Bucket Today?) there are mostly two things involved: bucket filling and bucket dipping. Bucket filling encourages being respectful, while bucket dipping is the opposite of someone being respectful.

Now back to Buckets, Dippers, and Lids- this book is all of the above, but with a new addition: lids. But why lids and what does it mean? Hmmmm….. Lids are included to help kids learn that just because someone is able to dip into their bucket, doesn’t mean they need to let them do just that. Lids are a great example for describing that if necessary, we can ignore the person trying to dip into our buckets. In my opinion, I like this book a lot because of the visual images that show up for the examples. Therefore I will say that Glen Zimmer is a great illustrator.

Book Number Three: A Little SPOT: My First Emotions

Book number three is part of A Little SPOT series. Now if you’re not aware of the SPOT series yet, we’re gonna have a problem. Not really of course, but get ready for a new addition to the family :). This book is also truly great for toddlers. It's great for getting your toddler familiar with different emotions and normalizing them. With questions included in the book, it’s helpful to bring conversations about these feelings with your child.

This book can also be used as a tool. With being so young, it’s hard for young children to communicate with their word. So pointing is a great way to communicate where they’re at. For example, if they are having some big feelings, get the book and ask them to point to what they’re feeling.

This book, written by Diane Alber, is a truly great introduction to some basic feelings and I highly recommend her books.

Book Number Four: What To Do When You Feel Like Hitting

Cara Goodwin, wrote book number four in this list. She created a book that emphasizes what children can do when they feel like hitting.

This book has some great self-regulation examples for young children. My favorite is squeezing your hands to the side. I always visualize that one with my clients by pretending like they’re holding sponges with water and they need to squeeze all the water out of them.

It even includes some sign language for another way to communicate!

Book Number Five: the girl who never made mistakes

Beatrice Bottomwell, a character written by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein, has never once made a mistake… or has she?

Spoiler alert- yes she has, but only at the end of the book. This book shows children that no one needs to be perfect. It presents the idea of a growth mindset and shares the thought that making mistakes is 100% ok and there shouldn’t be anything embarrassing about them.

Book Number Six: A Little SPOT of Confidence

Here it is folks, another book in the SPOT series written by Diane Alber. Now, when we talk about confidence with kids, we need to show them that it’s a true feeling they can feel when they feel the opposite. Confidence is important for kids growing up. It helps their future to be able to feel like there is nothing to worry about. Setting goals and having a positive outlook helps along the way- so it’s a good thing that A Little SPOT of Confidence takes part in that.

Book Number Seven: Of Course, It's a Big Deal: A Story about Learning to React Calmly and Appropriately Volume 3

This book, written by Bryan Smith, includes a character named Braden. Braden can be described as a kid who learns through experiences- typical right? In this book, we also see Braden overreacting at times.

This book includes steps on how to have a calmer reaction and to think more flexibly. It’s a book I often read in sessions.

Overall

So, whatcha think? I know what I think… being that there is no mistake reading these books. I have all of these in my own library to use for sessions. Each of these books have a great storyline that I can build off of. I love being able to bring these examples into the sessions to continue learning from. Well, I hope you enjoyed and there will mostly like (eventually) be a part 3 to this Fantastic Stories series.

Written By,

Eliana Cohn, LSW

www.cuttingedge-therapy.com