Customer Reviews

When I Feel Sad (Way I Feel)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I chose this book to help my niece and nephews cope with their daddy's long-term visits to cancer clinics; his cancer became very aggressive just after I ordered it, and it ended up arriving just two days after his death. Later that week, the kids were having a hard day, and we all snuggled on the couch for some story time. I was amazed at how well the little ones (4 and nearly 3) identified with the emotions displayed by the book's characters. By the end of the book, the children were smiling and ready to play independently.

The gentle artwork is really lovely; the book walks through multiple situations that might spark feelings of sadness, but does not wallow at any point, and has a satisfying conclusion: even though I am sad for awhile, I don't have to be sad forever. The coping techniques shared in the book are easily followed by any young person (and are great ideas for grown-ups, too!), and because the artwork is so clear, even non-readers can "read the pictures" and walk themselves through to a feel-better conclusion.

I'd recommend this book for children in the 2 to 7 set; it could be pretty easily read independently by solid young readers, too. Even if your family has not had a significant emotional loss, I'd recommend it for intelligent emotional learning.

She loves the "When I Feel" series - These are the only books she picks out of the plethora of books to choose from. When I read to her and turn pages, she will have me stop at a particular page (when they lose something valuable to them), she says, "Oh, kiss" - gives a kiss then "big hug" - leans her body towards the character pretending to hug him. Very cute (hard to explain via text). She actively tries to console me when I pretend to be sad as a result of reading this book.

This is an excellent series for children as young as 3. Good content, wonderful illustrations and good parent suggestions. My school system has decided to use them in our 4 yr. preschool classes.

Therapist Cornelia Maude Spelman has written a wonderful series of books for children, teaching them how to cope with various emotions. In "When I Feel Sad", the focus is on coping with sadness, as experienced by a young guinea pig. Written as a story, the young guinea pig goes through various situations that make her feel sad.Later, the young guinea pig, with the guidance of an adult, learns that it is ok to feel sad occasionally, and that happiness eventually returns.Of course, this may appear rather simplistic and does not take into consideration that there are children out there who suffer from chronic depression, but this should be considered more of a general book on the topic of how to cope with being sad. There is a brief note to parents by the author at the beginning of the book that explains how it is important to help children cope with sadness, by acknowledging their emotions and offering comfort, but not to the point of overindulgence, which the author cautions against. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful and help make the story real for children.Highly recommended series of books for toddlers and up!

"The way I feel" series is great for young (usually first to second grade and younger) children to begin to learn to label and express their feelings. This book uses simple language and bright colorful pictures. The book is short enough to keep their attention but thorough enough to be used in therapy. Would recommend any of this series to therapist or anyone that works with children, as well as parents who just want emotionally intelligent children.

I've found the "When I Feel..." series to be very helpful for my son. He's interested in feelings and going through all these books have been invaluable in teaching him how to spot these emotions in himself as well as others. This is a wonderful teaching tool.

This book has been useful in helping children understand their emotions and how to manage them better. It helps to read about emotion as it seems to identify it as something others have been challenged by and have found ways to conquer.

My daughter loves this book. All books in this series are very well written, easy for my 3 year old daughter to understand, words flow nicely. Talks about what the emotion feels like, what can cause us to feel sad, everyone feels this way sometimes, what can we do to feel better, and that we won't always feel this way.

This is an adorable book with absolutely delightful illustrations!!