Blog by Lucy Howard  from Mrs H's favorite things

Thursday, 4th March 2021 is World Book Day, I thought it would be helpful to put together a list of books to help children become more mindful and tune into their emotions. These books have been recommended by members of the Mindful Emotion Coaching community. And unless stated otherwise, the books can be found at online bookshops.

First of all, I wanted to mention Sarah’s own book for helping children to deal with their emotions. “All Emotions Are Okay” is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 9 years-old and their families. The book introduces children to emotions and feelings and helps to prepare them for school. The book can be streamed at www.emotionresilience.co.uk.

The following books are used by Sarah in her Mindful Emotion Coaching project:

“Mind Hug: The First Story” by Emily Arber and Vanessa Lovegrove – with it’s very own guide to mindfulness as a free pdf

“Sitting Still Like A Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and their Parents) with a DVD read by Myla Kabat-Zinn and with a foreword by John Kabat-Zinn.

The “My Brain Series” by Alison Hart, includes the books “My Brain” and “My Brain: What It Does and How I Feel”.

The “Robbie Feels…” series by Skylark Learning, includes the books “Robbie Feels Love”; “Robbie Feels Scared”; “Robbie Feels Sad”; “Robbie Feels Angry” and “Robbie Feels Happy”. Written by educational experts from Cambridge for early years children and available on the Skylark Learning website.

“Strong and Mighty Max” by Kristina Gray, with illustrations by Sarah-Leigh Willis.

Other books recommended by the Mindful Emotion Coaching community are below:

“Some Days I Flip My Lid: Learning To Be A Calm, Cool Kid” and its follow up “Some Nights I Flip My Lid: Learning To Be A Calm, Cool Kid” by Kellie Doyle Bailey, with illustrations by Hannah Bailey.

“Finding Ray’s Key” by Sam Goddard, with illustrations by Owen Williams.

“Slow Down! Bring Calm to a Busy World with 50 Nature Stories” by Rachel Williams, with illustrations by Freya Hartas.

“The Rhythm of the Rain” by Grahame Baker-Smith.

“Kindness: A Book About Kindness”, with a foreword by illustrator Axel Scheffler.

“Happy: A Children’s Book of Mindfulness” by Nicola Edwards and Katie Hickey.

“The Colour Monster series” by Anna Llenas, includes the books “The Colour Monster”; “The Colour Monster Goes to School” and “The Colour Monster: A Story about Emotions”.

“The Voices in my Head” by Kathryn Lovewell.

“Breathing is my Superpower: Mindfulness Book for Kids to Feel Calm and Peaceful” and “Kindness is my Superpower: A Children’s Book about Empathy, Kindness and Compassion” by Alicia Ortego.

“Crab and Whale: A New Way to Experience Mindfulness for Kids” by Mark Pallis and Christiane Kerr.

“Dr Dog” by Babette Cole.

“How are you Feeling Today?” by Molly Potter, illustrations by Sarah Jennings.

“The Girl who Never Made Mistakes” by Mark Pett and Gary Rubenstein, illustrations by Mark Pett.

“Have you Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids” by Carol McCloud, illustrations by David Messing.

“Taking Time” by Jo Loring-Fisher.

“Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, Focus and Calm” by Whitney Stewart and Mina Braun. A set of mindfulness cards with great suggestions of activities to do on each card. Also includes an 8 page instructional booklet.

I hope that you find these book recommendations useful. We would love to hear if there are any other books that you use to help children tune into their emotions.