July 2018 Book of the Month | Cleverly designed and sensitively illustrated, this is a wonderful book to explore the world of feelings. Each double page takes a different emotion, from sadness to jealousy, loneliness to excitement, and examines it through simple lines of verse and Richard Jones’s warm, empathetic drawings. On each page is the same small child, spied through a die cut hole, and therefore placed at the heart of each emotion. We all feel these things, is the message; feelings are strong and real, but they come and go. Despite the tumult of different emotions, the overall sensation on reading this is one of calm and serenity, and it’s a book to make children feel more secure in their world.
Feelings Inside my heart and in my head... Synopsis
Richard Jones' enchanting illustrations and the lyrical text make each and every feeling come to life to help children understand the emotions they experience.
Emotional learning begins at a very young age and is a vital part of childhood development. ‘70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age’ (Mental Health Foundation). Therefore, it is essential to provide as much material as possible early on in a child’s life, in order to help them in any way to deal with their mental health.
Children’s Mental Health Week which occurred this year in February demonstrated that there is a real emphasis on removing the stigma of child’s mental health, with a heavy focus on #BeingOurselves. It demonstrated the importance of being unique and having a positive view of ourselves, shedding more light on this issue within children’s lives.
Libby Walden is an editor at Caterpillar Books and a book review blogger at Through the Wardrobe. Libby’s days are filled with writing, reading and dreaming up new books. Read more about the author here.
