All Feelings Are OK: It's What You Do With Them That Counts

Author: Lawrence E. Shapiro, Ph.D; Illustrated by Jille Mandel

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: variety, basic emotions as well as others

Year of Publication: 1993

Publisher & Location: The Center for Applied Psychology, Inc.; King of Prussia, PA

ISBN#: 1-882732-04-9

Target Age Level: Upper and Lower elementary

# of Pages: 100

Quality of Illustrations: It is coloring book-style. Illustrations have questions and a spot to answer them at the bottom. The illustrations also allow the children to draw in faces of how people might feel in different situations.

Brief Summary: A coloring book that allows children to draw in emotions on faces and answer questions at the end. Eg. "How do you feel when the teacher yells at you for passing a note, but you didn't do it?" The child colors in the page and faces, then answers the question, "What can you do about it?"

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This coloring book is an invaluable tool to use with children who are trying to figure out their emotions in different situations. It allows them to talk about how they might feel in different situations without someone dictating it for them. It is a good tool to use with kids who are not very verbal, or kids who like to draw.

Activity:
This book is a workbook, so each page is an activity. It is set up for you to easily use the different situations in the book for whatever situation is happening with the child.

My Many Colored Days

Author: Dr. Suess; Paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: most emotions, covers all the basic emotions

Year of Publication: 1996

Publisher & Location: Scholastic, Inc.; New York, NY

ISBN#: 0-590-37046-4

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary. Can be used for Upper Elementary as well as with Junior High and High school if used creatively.

# of Pages: 40

Quality of Illustrations: nice, colorful paintings. Almost abstract art.

Brief Summary: Dr. Seuss talks about feelings/emotions as colors in the first person, describing the color and the feeling associated with it.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: good book to use for a variety of issues.

Activity:
Have the children draw what color their day today is. Have them then draw what color they think the teacher's day has been (or a peer or a parent). Have the children share the drawings with each other.

Mad Isn't Bad

Author: Michaelene Mundy; Illustrated by R.W. Alley

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Anger

Year of Publication: 1999

Publisher & Location: Abbey Press; St. Meinrad, IN

ISBN#: 0-87029-3331-1

Target Age Level: Lower elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: colorful, non-threatening

Brief Summary: Book about an elf that is learning to deal with his anger. Discusses what causes anger in children/people, talks about why anger isn't "bad", and how to use anger positively. Talks about how to obtain help from adults and how anger can lead to negative and unhealthy behaviors.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Good book to use for anger, but can also be used to talk about other negative emotions. Anger tends to be a common response to a variety of trauma or crises so this is a helpful book for children.

Activity:
1. Read book 2. Talk about a time the child was mad and how they dealt with it 3. Talk about options (both good and bad) of behaviors when the child is mad 4. Have the child draw or write out what they plan to do next time they get angy.

Touchtender

Title: Touchtender

Author: Niid La'i; Illustrated by Tyler Thompson

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: self-esteem, depression, anxiety, fear, therapy, love, twisted thinking

Year of Publication: not yet published, copy right 2001

Publisher & Location: none (I can order copies if you are interested)

ISBN#: none

Target Age Level: Lower and Upper Elementary. I also use with Junior High and High School

# of Pages: 34

Quality of Illustrations: black and white, non-threatening, excellent use of drawings

Brief Summary: A child talks about different feelings, including feeling left out and depressed, angry, hurt, having poor self-esteem. Child also talks about being in therapy and getting mad at therapist sometimes.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: I like this book a lot. It covers a range of topics and can be used for a variety of situations. non-threatening and easy to read to a child or with a child. And, again, I use it with adolescents who have been hurt as children.

Activity:
Discuss what makes the child feel "touch tender" and compare it with person in book. Have the child write their own book of what makes them feel "touchtender".

Don't Feed the Monster on Tuesdays!

Author: Adolph Moser, Ed.D; Illustrated by David Melton

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: self-esteem, negative emotions ("bad feelings"), can be used for suicide prevention or explanation of suicide for young children

Year of Publication: 1991

Publisher & Location: Landmark Editions, Inc., Kansas City MO

ISBN#: 0-933849-38-9

Target Age Level: Pre-K, Lower and Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 55

Quality of Illustrations: colorful, non-threatening images.

Brief Summary: Not a parenting book so much as a book for parents to read with their children, “Don’t Feed the Monster” helps kids understand negative self-talk by picturing a nasty green monster who lives in your head and says mean things. With colorful cartoons and kid-friendly language, the book offers explanations for those bad feelings and ways to overcome them.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: good book for a variety of problems including self-esteem, image, emotions, positive and negative self-talk. Really, you can use it for any issue you would like. The "green monster" can be anything you want it to be (if you are a little creative).

Activity:
Have the child draw a picture of their "monster". Have them name the monster. Talk about the book and have the children choose one day not to feed their monster. Have them make a poster stating "Don't Feed the Monster on _____day" and hang it up in their room.

Let's Talk About Feeling Afraid

Author: Joy Berry; Illustrated by Maggie Smith

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Fear, anxiety

Year of Publication: 1995

Publisher & Location: Scholastic; New York City, NY

ISBN#: 0-590-62384-2

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, can be used with some Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: colorful images, Asian family

Brief Summary: Told from perspective of pet mouse (Squeaky) of a boy named Kim. Talks about things Kim is afraid of and how to avoid feeling afraid. Also validates that it is okay to feel afraid.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: I used these books when working K-6 (used it mostly with K-2) children who had excessive fears or anxiety. I like that the family is culturally diverse (for this area), it defines fear. It also talks directly to the reader about what people might feel in their bodies when afraid (very important for children to understand), but then talks about how to overcome the fears.

Activity:
Give the child an outline of a body. Have them color in the body (with a color of their choice) where they feel fear in their own bodies. Talk about fear, what they are afraid of, and have them draw what they can to do be less afraid.

Life Doesn't Frighten Me

Author: Maya Angelou, Paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: anxiety, self-image, fear

Year of Publication: 1993

Publisher & Location: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York

ISBN#: 1-55670-288-4

Target Age Level: Upper Elementary, Junior High. Can use for High School if creatively used.

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: colorful, sketch-style art, some skull-looking sketches

Brief Summary: A poem about facing life and things that scare you. About bravery and facing fears.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Be careful with the pictures, if a child is afraid of skeletons there are skeleton-type illustrations. Poem is good for helping children face fears, intended to build self-esteem and ability of children to deal with things that cause negative emotions.

Activity:
Talk about fears, bravery, and facing fears. Have the children write their own poem (as a group or as individuals) about their fears. Have them illustrate their poem.

Touching Spirit Bear

Author: Ben Mikaelsen

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: fighting, stealing, anger, violence

Year of Publication: 2001

Publisher & Location: HarperTeen, NYC, NY

ISBN#: 978-0-380-80560-0

Target Age Level: Junior High, High School

# of Pages: 240

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility. Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book is useful for use with angry adolescents. Can be used for adolescents with substance abuse problems, aggression, guns/weapons, and any kind of anger problems.

Activity:
Typically discussions about the book are best for this type of book. Assign the adolescent to read only a certain number of chapters, then have them "finish the story" (what they think will happen next). Discuss it, then have them read on. You can do this at different parts in the book.

A Very Touching Book...for Little People and for Big People

Author(s): Jan Hindman

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: boundaries, sexual abuse, appropriate/inappropriate touching

Year of Publication: 1983

Publisher & Location: AlexAndria Associates; Baker City OR

ISBN #: 978-0961103415

Target Age Level: Upper and Lower Elementary. But when I asked when to start reading this to children the author suggested you "lay it on your belly" while pregnant (she was a very funny and good lady).

# of Pages: 56

Quality of Illustrations: very good, colorful (warning: illustrations show body parts that normally aren't shown)

Brief Summary (1-2 paragraphs): A book written from the perspective of an adult talking to a child about body parts and touching (both good and bad). Discusses how this topic is embarrassing for adults. Also addresses secrets and how they are destructive.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or things to consider when using this book with children: This author is/was an authority on the subject of child sexual abuse. Many people, I think, are offended or embarrassed by the content of the book, however being a therapist for sex offenders and victims, my opinion is that these things need to be talked about with parents and their children. This book helps make it easier. Recommend this book for any parent.

Activity:
This book provides a lot of opportunity for discussion with any age children. Allow the child(ren) to ask questions and have the adult answer them openly.

Annie's Monster

Author: Barbara Corcoran

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Mental Illness, Adolescence, Caregivers, Death, Pet Care, Family Relationships, Mental Health Facilities

Year of Publication: 1990 (out of print, but available used)

Publisher & Location: Macmillian, New York

ISBN#: 0689316321

Target Age Level: Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 188

Quality of Illustrations: None

Brief Summary: Annie gets a new dog and when they are out one day, they stumble across a homeless woman who Annie tries to help.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:

Almost A Hero

Author(s): John Neufeld

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: Abuse, Suicide, Homeless Children

Year of Publication: 1995

Publisher & Location: New York

ISBN #: 0689807406

Target Age Level: Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 160

Quality of Illustrations: None

Brief Summary (1-2 paragraphs): Ben is mad when he hears that he has to spend his vacation in a pre-school for homeless kids. He gets really involved and tries to save a child who he thinks is being abused.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or things to consider when using this book with children:

My Body is Private

Author(s): Linda Walvoord Girard; illustrator, Rodney Pate

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: sexual abuse

Year of Publication: 1984

Publisher & Location: Albert Whitman & Company, Morton Grove IL

ISBN #: 978-0-8075-5319-0 (paperback)

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 26

Quality of Illustrations: black & white with yellow highlights, pencil drawings

Brief Summary (1-2 paragraphs): Julie is a young girl, her mother is teaching her about physical boundaries with others--what is appropriate and what is not. Positive examples and negative examples and how to deal with them.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or things to consider when using this book with children: Have recommended this for parents looking for ways to talk to their children about boundaries and child abuse. Pictures aren't all that great but content good. There is a page for parents (last page) that directs parents on how to talk with their children about sexual abuse. Rare, considering it was published in 1984. More for prevention than for dealing with a crisis that has already happened.

Activity:
At the end of the book there are pointers and a guide for parent/adult reading with the child. Follow those suggestions.

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