Award-winning counting book invites young children to learn about coping with emotions. Young children often need help grasping the complexities of their feelings, which can sometimes be overwhelming. When children learn from an early age to handle their emotions in healthy ways, they are more likely to grow into adults who feel capable of facing life’s challenges. This friendly, positive picture book helps children understand their feelings better, giving them coping strategies for communicating and managing emotions more effectively. Using an inviting counting format, 1-2-3 My Feelings and Me invites children and adults to count to ten as they share and explore feelings together. “We feel our feelings in two important ways, in our bodies and in our minds. Our bodies may feel hot, shaky, or calm. Our minds and our thoughts might be telling us we are scared, or excited, or unhappy.” Along with presenting tools and strategies, the book reinforces emotional language and the ideas that while some feelings are more comfortable than others, all emotions are natural and important.

A sensitive and supportive story to help young children recognize and cope with sadness. “Now when I get sad, I still cry sometimes. I still hide sometimes. But only for a little while. Because now I know ways to feel better.” Sadness can be an overwhelming emotion, especially for young children. But it’s important to know when sadness can be overcome, and when it’s indicative of a greater problem. Sometimes When I’m Sad is an invaluable self-help resource that helps children identify sadness or depression and offers helpful ways to manage it, such as: Talk about it with a parent or a trusted adult or counselor Draw the sadness with crayons Release tension by squishing clay Run and jump around outside Observe nature The word depression is never used in the gentle, child-focused text, but this simple story offers an entrance point for both adults and children to identify and address childhood depression symptoms early. This timely resource is a wonderfully gentle way to take steps toward banishing the stigma around mental illness. A special section at the back of the book provides support for adults, from an explanation of the difference between sadness and depression to helpful tools to manage the illness. Especially useful for counselors, social workers, teachers, parents, and any other adults caring for children who struggle with dark feelings. Sometimes When Collection With quiet, sensitive illustrations, the Sometimes When collection helps young children work through big feelings, such as sadness and anger. The stories are accessible to children and grounded in research from an author with over thirty years of experience as a clinical psychologist. A special section at the back of each book provides more information and activities to help young children work through their feelings.