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Your Family, Your Library Podcast: Big Feelings (Episode 1)

By Skokie Staff Youth Services

These are the books about feelings, emotions, and mindfulness (plus a few more) shared on episode 1 of Your Family, Your Library.

Here and Now
2019 by Denos, Julia
Written as part of the author's own meditation practice, this book is meant to be a mindfulness exercise for the reader. Beautiful and calming, there is a lot to look at and talk about together.

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Hurry Up! A Book about Slowing Down
2020 by Dopirak, Kate
A busy boy and his dog learn to slow down and enjoy life together. Life can be seen and felt more clearly in the slow lane.

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Outside In
2020 by Underwood, Deborah
Nature feeds and nurtures us, no matter where we are--it's up to us to embrace it. This book offers a great reminder that the outdoors is a true friend to us all and only enhances the enclosed spaces we inhabit.

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Ice Cream Face
2022 by Sheffield, Heidi Woodward
It's hard to deal with feelings if you can't identify them! The illustrations in this book help our youngest learners be in touch with what they, and the people around them, are feeling. Make faces together, do some mirror-play, and talk about what it feels like when you're experiencing the corresponding feelings. Gah, brain freeze!

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Everybody! You, Me & Us
2022 by Gravel, Elise
Everybody is unique. Yet we are all more similar than we think. Everybody has fears. Everybody has moments of joy, and moments of sadness. Everybody makes mistakes, and can fix them. Young readers will enjoy all the different sizes, shapes, and colors of the monsters in Everybody! and realize that, in the end, we are all the same.

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Why Am I Here?
2016 by Ørbeck-Nilssen, Constance
A child asks a series of simple, yet profound, questions--Why am I here, in this exact place? What if I were somewhere else, very far away and different? Would I be someone else? Would I have different struggles? This book does not shy away from the big, hard questions of our world--war, famine, climate change, and natural disasters--but it does so in a contemplative, peaceful way, giving grown-ups and kids perspective on lives unlike our own.

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Ravi's Roar
2020 by Percival, Tom
Tired of missing out on good things because he is the smallest and youngest in his family, Ravi turns into a tiger and gets what he wants with a great roar. This book is part of the "Big Bright Feelings" series by Tom Percival.

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I Want to Sleep under the Stars!
2020 by Willems, Mo
The true stars of this book are the emote-acorns (acorns with emotive faces)--they pop-up throughout the story when the squirrels have big feelings and show us that we can feel emotions that are different from those our friends are feeling in the same space and time.

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After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again
2017 by Santat, Dan
After falling off the wall, Humpty Dumpty is very afraid of climbing up again, but is determined not to let fear stop him. This book allows for great conversations about how feelings can't break you; feeling broken doesn't mean you're broken forever.

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Counting by 7s
2013 by Sloan, Holly Goldberg
Willow Chance is a brilliant, neurodivergent teen who experiences a lot in a short time--from a new school to making new friends and then, an unthinkable tragedy. This book is for grown-ups as much as it is for kids. There is so much to learn from Willow and how she feels and experiences the world. Recommended for grades 5 and up.

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Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay
2022 by Fosslien, Liz
A great reminder that adults have big feelings, too, this book is a helpful, relatable guide for those of us (all of us) who struggle with stress and anxiety in adulthood. Recommended for adults.

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Nature Meets Nurture: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids
2022 by Doan, Stacey N.
Today's parenting challenges are complex and anxiety-inducing, often creating a cyclical pattern of stress and overwhelm between parents and their children. In this book, cutting-edge research becomes easily digestible strategies for parents to break these negative cycles and find parenting more intuitive and peaceful. Recommended for adults.

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