Our kids can have BIG emotions! As children grow, they learn more about their feelings and how to express them and understand them. But how can we help? Sometimes books are the easiest place to start. Reading books about emotions is a great way to start labelling and identifying our feelings. Books also show us characters in similar situations, which gives our children prime examples on how to manage all those big feelings.
We compiled a list of books that talk about emotions with the help of parents and caregivers from the Bilingual Babies Ottawa Facebook group.
Due to popular request, all future blog posts with French resource suggestions will include links to directly purchase each of the books, either from Amazon, Usborne, Renaud-Bray, or Indigo depending on where we found the best price for Canadian families.
Disclaimer: 123 Petits Pas is an Amazon associate and Usborne book seller and so the links to those books are affiliate links. We thank you for considering purchasing through our link in order to help support our small business. 🙂
Books:
La Colère de Croco, La Joie de Jojo, La Peur de Pompon, La Tristesse de Tara by Rosie Greening
A delightful set of books designed to teach children about emotions and behaviours. Each story focuses on one particular emotion. The stories are written in clear, simple text and the beautiful illustrations will keep children engaged and entertained as they read. At the back of each book, there are questions about the story to further discuss and build upon the issues presented.
Les émotions de Gaston by Aurelie Chien Chow Chine
Gaston is a little unicorn different form the others. His mane wears the colours of the rainbow when he is well, but as soon as a strong emotion overwhelms him, his mane and his tail change colour according to his mood: anger, joy and sadness, etc. At the end of each story, there are some simple exercises to help the child learn to manage their emotions.
P’tit Loup fait une colère by Orianne Lallemand
Today, P’tit Loup is going to the park with Maman and Babiloup. But nothing happens the way he wants. He groans, sulks and gets angry! For Mom, it’s time for Little Wolf to learn to handle his emotions.
La couleur des émotions by Anna Llenas
The colour monster is all mixed up today. His emotions are all topsy-turvy! He does not understand what is happening to him. Will he succeed in putting his heart in order and regaining his balance? A book to discover emotions. This is a great book for labelling emotions.
Tourbillon des émotions by Janan Cain
This book was created to help children find words to express the way they feel. There are 14 simple poems with beautiful illustrations . This book is to help reduce the frustration that both parents and children feel when they can’t share their true feelings.
Tchoupi en colère by Thierry Courtin
T’choupi is really mad at his mother. He decides to go to Grandma and Grandpas house. But is there a better way to handle his emotions?
Mon livre des émotions by Felicity Brooks and Frankie Allen
How are you feeling today? This fun, friendly and reassuring introduction to feelings is designed to help young children recognize, understand and name how they’re feeling and learn to talk about and manage their emotions in helpful ways. Recommended for ages 3+
Munch les classiques- Mes Émotions
Your favourite Classic Munsch’s characters are back and here to help young Munsch fans understand and articulate their feelings. Elizabeth and other familiar friends are joined by new faces to demonstrate the wonderful range of emotions we can experience in a day.
Dans mon petit coeur by Jo Witek
This book represents the heart of a little girl who, step by step, discovers all the feelings in life. From sadness to anger, through joy and jealousy, her heart is the object of small pains and great happiness.
Petit Zen collection: L’Oursonne est en colère
This book series offers poetic and reassuring stories to spend a quiet moment with your child and teach them to channel their emotions.
Florence veut tout réussir by Marilou Coté
If you want to be proud of yourself, whatever the result, accompany Florence and her friend Zen on their cool adventures. This books is great for calming down and incorporating yoga into your daily life.
Je suis en colère by les météo des humeurs
This book helps children understand what it feels like when you are angry and how to tame this feeling. There are concrete examples to use at home and an anger scale to help children find their place at the end of the day. A parent guide page is also provided to help caregivers communicate with their child about their emotions. This book is also a part of series discussing other emotions.
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Une tonne d’émotions Que signifient-elles? By Jennifer Moore-Mallinos and Gustavo Mazali
Ah, the emotions! Did you know that everyone has emotions? There are some great ones, like joy, surprise, and excitement. There are also some less pleasant ones, such as sadness, anger and frustration. But did you know that there are many more to discover? This book has 44 emotions to discover but the main message with this book: no matter how you feel, your emotions are yours.
Moi aussi, je suis….. a series of books on emotions by Moira Butterfield and Holly Sterling
Whether it’s sad, happy, scared or angry, big emotions can be difficult to handle. These books start the conversation about how to manage them effectively.
We hope you enjoyed our book list and hopefully it can help you and your child navigate their emotions. Thank you for all the great suggestions provided by the participants of the Bilingual Babies Ottawa Facebook group.
P.S. Some board games we love that discuss emotions are: Loto des émotions, Cherche et Trouve les émotions, La Planète des Émotions and La boîte calme.
Have fun!
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