by Lory Britain
Happy and also sad. Excited but nervous too. Feeling friendly with a little shyness mixed in. Mixed feelings are natural, but they can be confusing. There are different kinds of happy—the quiet kind and the “noisy, giggly, jump and run” kind. And there are conflicting feelings, like proud and jealous, frustrated and determined. With gentle messaging and charming illustrations, a little girl talks about her many layered feelings, ultimately concluding, “When I have more than one feeling inside me, I don’t have to choose just one. I know that all my feelings are okay at the same time.” A special section for adults presents ideas for helping children explore their emotions, build a vocabulary of feeling words, know what to do if they feel overwhelmed, and more.
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Fosters emotional and social development - 90%
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Has a clear message – explicit or implicit - 90%
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Helps children to understand their emotional experience - 100%
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Developmentally appropriate - 90%
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Captivating for children and their imagination - 90%
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Builds social bonds - 90%
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Supports loving relationships - 90%
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Promotes laughter - 70%
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Encourages creative play - 80%
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Is inventive - 90%
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Promotes diversity - 90%
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Supports learning and cognitive development - 90%
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How likely would you be to recommend this book - 90%
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I’m Happy Sad Today by Lory Britain, is a joy to read and the illustrations reflect the message appropriately.
At the beginning of the story we meet a young child who is struggling with some feelings while also feeling positive about other feelings. The author does an exceptional job at pointing out a variety of feelings is normal and that each child or adult has their own feelings.
Immediately the feelings are distinguished as personal to the child. For example, the feeling of happy can be from jumping and running but also from sitting quietly with a favorite book. This is especially important to highlight as the book is read to or by children, that there is no right or wrong way to feel happy and we all have our own preferences and they can change from day to day.
The illustrations match the story well and the feelings are clear on the children’s faces. The illustrations are also colorful in nature and promote their own discussion about each scene. Throughout the story the actual feelings are highlighted in a different color font which really helps while reading to focus on those words and those moments.
As the reader moves through the story, we learn more about the child’s feelings and what happens when she experiences more than one feeling and it is mentioned lots of people feel that way sometimes. This is a great opportunity to stop and have some dialogue about feeling combinations.
As the book continues, the illustrations continue to promote a clear message as well as that of a diverse classroom. There is diversity in the children, their activities, clothes, etc. The wide range of feelings mentioned is amazing and allows the reader and audience the opportunity to relate to one another. For example, the feelings of being determined might be more difficult to identify for a child but with the help of an adult, and this book, the child might understand that feeling a little easier.
Towards the end of the story we have been introduced to the combination feelings/words which provides a moment of laughter and creativity for the reader and their audience. This is a great space to laugh and return to those combination feelings and highlight the normalcy of those feelings. From a Humane Education perspective this book is wonderful and promotes discussion, openness, and inclusion. Children will find so many opportunities to comment and reflect while reading this story.
Suggested Questions:
What combination feelings have you felt? What would you call those feelings? (creating a new combo word)