I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, especially because the title was so fun. But I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it was the style or I was having an off day.

As I grew up, I heard comments like “Don’t be such a baby” and “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about” or even things like “Stop crying, boys don’t cry”. Well, these are all wrong. It is okay to cry, it is okay to show your emotions and it is okay to have emotions.

In Ira Crumbs Feels the Feelings, Ira is a boy who is not afraid to show how he is feeling. Ira and Malcolm are best buddies who have difficulty deciding whether to play hide and seek or tag. When other friends hear the word “tag,” they come running and off they go with Malcolm, leaving Ira alone. He is sad and everyone knows it. People try to cheer him up, but he just wants to feel the feelings. It wasn’t just that no one wanted to play Hide and Seek, but that he missed his bestie and wanted Malcolm back. When Malcolm comes back and finds Ira upset, they talk about it, joke about it and laugh together. Malcolm accepts that Ira was sad and that was okay.

Kids will enjoy this book, especially the fart jokes, but also to learn that it is okay to show your feelings. A fun story for those 5 to 8 year olds with a message. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

Feelings can be confusing for young kids. This is true for Ira, especially when his best friend isn't there with him. A good read for young kids! They can see how another kid deals with difficult feelings.

It's super important to validate a young child's feelings, and that's what Hrab is doing here. Ira's emotions and choices are reported, not evaluated. He makes a choice not to play with the others. Being left behind takes him through a range of emotions but there's no sense of "he made the wrong choice" or "he needs to choose happiness". He feels his feelings and his friend feels different feelings. And its all valid. Likely to go over young head initially, but a good way to start the conversation.

This was an ok story. The message about friendship and kids trying to understand their feelings was nice but I have read other books that convey that message better. Overall, this was fine.

Interesting read. Read this to my 4 year old and learned why it was not good to lie. Nice read for preschoolers.

Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings follows Ira as he has very strong sad and mad feelings when his best friend, Malcolm, decides to play tag instead of hide and seek. After moping and wallowing in a sea of self-pity, Ira is finally cheered back up when Malcolm is done playing and they hook back up together.

This book didn't really do it for me, but I can see how it would be very appealing to children who are in the punny-fart-joke age group. I suspect, in fact, that this would be one of the books I ended up hiding behind the china cabinet when I couldn't stand it any longer, because it is precisely the sort that would get picked many nights in a row for bedtime reading. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for providing me with a free digital ARC of this book.

Great book to help children explore different emotions. What I loved most about this book is the strong story it had that showed what emotions were instead of just telling the kids. Many children will relate to the disappointment Ira feels when no one plays with him. Parents will enjoy how the characters move through feelings, showing kids how their feelings should be validated, and how to handle strong emotions.

There is a lot of great vocabulary, fun comic illustrations and a well-developed story.

I can see how this would appeal to children with the funny humor (pickles and fart jokes). This is the story of Ira Crumb and Malcom Cake. They are best friends. One day Ira wants to play Hide and Seek and Malcom wants to play tag. Most of the other children want to play tag and Ira is left alone. Being that Ira and Malcom do everything together, Ira goes through anger and then sadness. Others try to cheer him up but he is too sad. The story goes from there and shows a good friendship.. Illustrations are cute and will appeal to children. I recommend this book for 4-7 yr. olds.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

#NetGalley #OwlKidsBooks Available October 15, 2018

Ira and Malcolm are good friends who each want to play a different game during recess. Malcolm wants to play tag while Ira wants to play hide-and-seek. Malcolm shouts

"Eveeryonewhowantstoplayhideandseekssayswhaaat!"

Ira appears a bit clueless.

"What?"

Malcolm quickly declares that he will hide. Many of their friends heard the word tag and race over to join him. They shout:

"Did Malcolm say "tag"? Malcolm is the best!"

"I heard Malcolm invented tag!"

"Malcolm for president!"

Ira thinks it's just a game of tag. When they race off to play, Malcolm quickly turns and asks if Ira wants to come, then just as quickly accepts the fact that Ira isn't interested in joining them.

Ira is left all alone feeling lost and lonely. His chin is quivering and his eyes leaky. There is no other word. He is really SAD! As well as feeling sorry for himself. Others attempt to cheer him up but he seems to want to feel his feelings.

In time, Malcolm misses his friend and returns.

When Malcolm asks why his friend is sad, will Ira end up "jumping through hoops" to put a smile on his face?

My Thoughts
What Concerned Me: I wasn't a fan of the illustrations.

In all honesty, I had a terrible time loading the complete story on either of my devices, so I had to look at other reviews to hear the last of the story. If what I'm reading is correct, and I have no reason to think otherwise, I'm not a fan or "fart" jokes in any way or fashion, which are in the book.

What I Liked Best: I was a fan of most of the story.

Lately, we see way too much in the way of saving kids (no matter what age) from feeling anything that resembles sad or upsetting. I think common sense, not necessarily a degree in psychology, says that holding emotions inside can easily have consequences. Does it necessarily feel good to be sad? Nope. But without emotions, it can be pretty difficult to empathize with anyone or grow as individuals.

I recommend sharing this book one-on-one or with a classroom. Were Ira and Malcolm correct in how they reacted?

Oh, this book gives you all the feelings! Ira Crumb may be little, but his emotions are BIG! When things do not go quite his way while playing with his best friend, Malcolm Cake, Ira does not only get a little sad...he gets a lotta sad! So sad that he cannot do anything, so sad that he does even want to be cheered up! Malcolm being the best friend that he is does not sit by and allow Ira to be sad alone! Malcolm's philosophy: If Ira's sad, I'm sad too! Is that not what best friends are for?
Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings is a great book to read to children to discuss and explore feelings! Ira teaches us that, YES, it is okay to be sad and to show your emotions! A healthy lesson for us all!

I reviewed this for Owlkids. Ira Crumb feels all the feelings. Great for early el. discussion on how your body acts with different feelings, idioms, etc. It’s a pretty funny book for being a book about being so sad!

Naseem Hrab and Josh Holinaty are back together again in a wonderful new Ira Crumb story: Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings. Like the first Ira Crumb, this is an incredibly silly story. Josh Holinaty does a fabulous job of hiding many cheeky little moments throughout the art in the story. One of the great things about Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings is the humour. Naseem Hrab seamlessly blends kid humour (you can’t go wrong with a good fart joke) with adult humour because really, adults are happy to read books they find funny as well. You will chuckle right along with your child when reading this one. Set up part picture book with a real comic book feel, I love the balance between the two styles. Comics and graphic novels still don’t get the credit as valid reading material they should so to be able to offer a book like Ira Crumb to the adults and children out there is a first step in showing that all types of books are perfect for reading. Through all the chuckles you get a really great message about validating feelings and helping children and adults realize that it’s okay to feel feelings because we all do. The important thing is how we deal with those feelings and how we can help our friends when they are feeling theirs.

Ira and his best friend Malcolm have great fun together. They love making each other laugh and are barely ever separated. One day Malcolm decides to run off with the other kids after a little dispute whether they should play hide-and-seek or tag. Malcolm decides tags for him and off he zooms with the gang. He does ask Ira to join in the fun but Ira declines the offer leaving him all alone.

It is after the group disappears that Ira reaps the effects of his refusal. His tummy begins to hurt, his chin begins wibbling and his eyes start to leak. Oh my! Others around him try to cheer him up but his sad anxiety-separation feelings sting even more.

Malcolm finally seeks out his friend once again. Ira is surprised at Malcolm's return but his heart is touched when his BFF says:

"Playing tag was so much fun...but it would have been even more fun if you'd been here. "

Ira breaks down and confesses :

"I don't even know anymore. I wanted to play hide-and-seek, but I didn't have anyone to play with. I had these feelings... and I didn't have you."

"Gosh, that's sad... Wanna be sad together?"

And as best friends have the power to do they cheer each other up and laugh and play once again, just like old times.

This is the second book in the Ira Crumb series. This heartfelt book is full of emotions and humour. It is a perfect segue to discuss feelings and how to deal with them. The illustrations are vibrant, kid-friendly and full of action. I like the book a lot and highly recommend it.

Such a cute story with a great lesson for kids. Feelings can be overwhelming for kids but this is a great resource for parents, teacher, or counselors!!! Highly recommend!

Ira Crumb’s chin wibbles and the tears fall when his friends and classmates choose to play tag over his preferred hide and seek. A sweet story about allowing grace for yourself when you’re feeling sad.

My older daughter (4) found this particularly funny and at this stage it’s valuable for her to have a conversation starter about things like feeling sad because you’ve been left out and how to talk to people about feeling sad.

This is my second Ira Crumb book, and i enjoyed it. It wasn’t as good as the first one, but it was a great edition. Ira gets Sad when Malcolm goes to play tag without him. He feels all the feelings, his feelings are even having feelings, and they are all sad. And he wants no one to try and cheer him up. This is not a deep message book, just a fun time with fart humor and pickles.

I'm happy to hear that Ira's back with a new lesson to teach. This book is perfect for starting a conversation about feelings with children, whether in a classroom setting or at home with your little ones. This silly tale will have your child giggling and empathizing without even realizing.

A short and cute story that will appeal to younger pre-readers who are learning to deal with negative feelings in social situations. The illustrations are incredibly pleasantly bizarre and eye catching.