The Feelings Book (Revised): The Care and Keeping of Your Emotions

It’s still a bit early for my young child, but we will keep it for when time comes.

After reading "The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for Younger Girls" with my 9-year-old daughter, I had really high hopes for this book. It was good, but I'm afraid it wasn't everything that I had hoped for.It's worth noting that this book briefly mentions PMS, so it's probably best read after a book like "The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for Younger Girls", which introduces the concept of menstruation.On the plus side, the book helps to normalize the many emotions a growing girl might be feeling. I like that it is explicit about how your emotions will affect your behavior, and your behavior will affect how other people react to you. You need to make sure you are exhibiting the actual emotions you feel; if you just act angry, other people - and yourself - won't understand or address the actual emotions you may be feeling, which may be embarrassment, disappointment, or shame.The book has several chapters talking about emotions in general. Specific emotions are addressed in the following sections:I'm ScaredI Feel AnxiousI'm So JealousI've Been DisrespectedI'm AngryI'm LonelyI'm Really SadI'm GrievingI Don't Feel SafeMuch of the book is formatted like an advice column, with questions outlining particular scenarios and answers providing specific tips and strategies. In many ways, the Q & A format was a good thing, because it made a lot of the emotions seem relatable. There were common scenarios like, "I'm scared to sleep alone at night," "I'm jealous that my sister is in my cousin's wedding, but I'm not," and "My parents are divorced, and every time I stay with one of them, I miss the other one." On the other hand, however, I'm a bit concerned that some of the scenarios might actually introduce fears that my daughter never considered before. For example, in the "I Don't Feel Safe" chapter, there were scenarios like, "I worry about school shootings," and "My house burned down last month, and I'm afraid our new house will burn down, too."Along the same lines, I'm afraid the book might introduce some additional concepts that maybe my child isn't ready for. In the "I'm Really Sad" chapter, there is a section listing "Signs of Depression", and one of them is "think[ing] a lot about death or suicide". It does not define suicide, and I'm not even sure if my daughter knows what "suicide" is, but if she doesn't, I'm not sure if this is the best way to introduce it. Maybe it is, because it's safely confined in a book about emotions? I don't know. I need to think about it some more while I decide whether or not to have my daughter read this book.It might also be helpful for a parent previewing this book for a child to know that this book does mention the idea of "seeking professional help," going on to explain what therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists do.Mostly, I'm disappointed that, despite touching upon embarrassment early in the book, there is no chapter titled, "I Feel Embarrassed." After anger, I feel like my daughter is most affected by unnecessary feelings of embarrassment.Also, in the "I've Been Disrespected" chapter - which is basically about being bullied - I don't think the answers are entirely realistic. Of course it advocates using words to solve the problem, but it suggests saying things like, "I'd like to find a way for us to get along." I'm sorry, I just think that in the real world, if kids used language like that with a bully, it would be met with laughter and eye-rolling. I am all for having children work out their own problems, however, when it comes to bullying, I don't think this section emphasized enough the importance of letting the teacher know that bullying is occurring among classmates.

I am 8 years old. My name is Finley. My mom got me this book because I was having a hard time with my feelings. I love the book series they give so much information on problems that you might have.My favorite part of this book is the fun quizzes and that the pictures are so nice 👍🏻I can’t wait to order more books.

I bought this for my girls when they were too young. I tried to download it on kindle a couple years later and was told my lease had expired. When I contacted amazon, after repeated attempts to access it I was told that the publisher made this a problem because they’ve updated the info. I have never had a notice that I couldn’t access a book I bought because the author updated it. This makes me question everything I’ve bought on kindle. They made the book available to me, after I complained, loudly, but buyer beware for every kindle based purchase!

My nine year old gave this one five stars. I read the book first and put post-its on the pages I did not want her to read to yet. We read some of the book together and talked about the subject matter and how she can apply the skills. She enjoys reading it on her own too.

I bought this book for my sixth grader. She really likes that this book guides her through many of the emotional changes she's been going through. As a mom, I like that it gives explicit tips about how to deal with emotions and mood crises. I think every girl who's about to enter adolescence should definitely read this book. It offers great advice.