Member Reviews
I Am Okay to Feel is a beautiful book about a little Black boy and his dad discussing his emotions and where they are coming from. Karamo and his dad wrote this book together and I think that's incredible. So many children struggle with expressing themselves whether they're having big or small feelings. Learning to self-regulate is important but I believe that learning how to communicate when something is affecting you emotionally is even more so. I love that the father in this story does not attempt to downplay his child's fears but rather explore them and get to the root of them. They also work together to find ways the child can feel safe and think positively. The book also includes some tools for children and caregivers to use in discussing facial expressions, feelings, and different approaches. I am especially happy to see this discussion from the perspective of a Black boy and his father because it's beautiful representation for people who are often not allowed this kind of vulnerability with themselves and others. Wonderful job!
I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. An excellent conversation between dad and son about it being okay to have feelings.
'I am Okay to feel' is a book by an influencer 'Karamo Brown' on his experience as a parent with his kid boy 'Jason "Rachel" Brown'. This book deals in self-help and making sure the readers must understand for how to remain calm in the advert situations.
Karamo & Jason stuck in storm and Jason was worried for how he would be out of that situation, there Karamo make him believe in himself, telling him that there is always a solution if we trust in self.
It is a very good book and I recommend to read it whoever felt down.
I really loved this book. I am working on feeling my own emotions in and out of the moment, and I feel this is an excellent resource to teach kids to do the same. I like how it showed grounding techniques to help bring bodily awareness and how it oked all of the feelings. This is definitely a different mind/way of thinking and this is a great resource for the next generation.
I highly recommend this book for kids and adults alike. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about our feelings. This book gives many examples of how parents can communicate with their children about what they’re feeling and providing examples of regulating emotions. As a teacher, I know these conversations with children are necessary so they can recognize and name the feeling, but also learn how to respond appropriately. I will be purchasing this title for my classroom library!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. My review will be posted on instagram at lizzies_little_library_
Thanks to Netgalley and Zando Projects for the ARC of this!
An excellent look at how thoughts lead to feelings, that feelings are valid but not all thoughts are true and how to deal with difficult big feelings in a productive manner. I loved the illustrations, that the Dad was the character dealing with feelings, and the overall message.
This was so sweet and had such a great way of discussing emotions to children. The art was beautiful and colourful while the story was both simple and complex. The topic was serious and mature but the writing made it easy to understand for young readers. This is such an important book for kids and will help them open up about their feelings.
I am always keeping my eye out for picture books tackling emotions in a way accessible to children, so when I spotted this on NetGalley I just had to request it. This picture book follows a young boy and his father on a walk in the park- the boy experiences a number of emotions after events that take place during this walk, and is talked through them by his patient and loving father in a way which will resonate with young readers maybe feeling similar worries. The father describes different ways to work through these worries- breathing routines etc- and my little brother who I was reading with enjoyed trying out these different methods, it really kept him engaged with the story. I liked how the story depicted such a positive father son relationship- it felt like the type of casual representation that can be so subtly powerful for children to see. The art style was beautiful, and just tied together the story so beautifully. I'd definitely recommend this picture book, particularly for children who maybe struggle to manage their big emotions!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced ebook copy of this title!
"Your feelings ar never silly. We feel what we feel. You should never feel embarrassed or mad about having feelings." SUCH a good message in this book. Father and son go on a walk,. enjoying the day and talking about their positive emotions. But then a storm begins, and the son begins to feel scared. His father helps him feel more comfortable, affirming his right to feel, while also giving strategies to manage his fear and sadness. The emotions are never portrayed as negative, but merely a part of the day.
The end of the book includes two little sections to help talk about feelings. The more wordy bit is going to be fore the parents, and helps them understand how to also affirm emotions and allow their discussion to be a part of the day. For kids, there's a cute little emotion wheel, with 10 illustrations of the son's face expressing different emotions. If your kid can't pinpoint their emotion, or it's too overwhelming, this wheel would be VERY useful. It's making me want a copy as a poster!
The artwork delights in strong curves and vibrant backgrounds. The humans are a in between cartoony and realistic, with fairly detailed faces (especially eyes and eyebrows, as they are big communicators of emotion), but more simple bodies. The colors really pop, and will be quite eye-catching for kids!
My kid asked for a repeat read! Which is normally an automatic extra star, but this book was ALREADY getting 5 stars! :D
Advanced review copy provided by the publisher.
This is a wonderful read for kids to help them identify, embrace, and process their feelings. It helps kids understand how our thoughts can become feelings, which can then become behavior. It is reassuring and affirming that feelings are both valid and also not forever. I LOVE that this lesson in emotional awareness is modeled by a man for his son.
There are helpful resources at the end, including a feelings wheel and prompts for things to talk about. It would be a great classroom read for SEL for pre-K and early elementary. This would be an excellent addition to school, classroom, and community libraries.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
Any book that encourages ways for children to not only accept feeling, but includes ways to manage them are golden in my my.
The fact that this book features a father son duo is even better. Young boys need to know that they don't need to hold emotions in and that they are allowed to show their feelings.
The resource and activities pages are the sprinkles on top of a cupcake. Easy to use with your child and extremely user friendly for the adult to understand.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC. My opinions are completely my own
Jason and his Dad, Karamo, are outside together when Jason expresses that he is happy. and he articulates what makes him feel this way. When he begins to feel something very different and doesn't quite have the words, his Dad gives him the space, the example and the language to explore what he is feeling and then express his needs. His calm, patient reassurance allows Jason to not only voice his emotions but to know that every feeling is important.
This book is brilliant and one I will return to again and again. A fantastic resource to help children, and adults, to know that all feelings are for feeling. Truly beautiful illustrations and typography that really support the storytelling. There is a brilliant final section that gives further resources and activities for parents/carers and children to try to both continue their emotional development. I have taken some advice from this as a parent and will be using it to also support my daughter.
Highly recommend for any parent/carer and adult working with children. To be honest, even if you don't work with children, this book is super powerful. It might just be the voice you need to know it is okay to feel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was exactly the sort of book I expected from Karamo ❤️ I am okay to feel seems mainly geared towards young boys, but can be read and enjoyed by anyone! Kids need books like this to learn from a young age that all emotions are okay to feel. It's ok to be scared and it's okay to be emotional. Books like this one give me so much hope for future generations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Projects for letting me read an advanced ebook.
This is such a beautiful book!
The colors are vibrant and the illustrations whimsical and sweet. The story is told through a conversation between a father and child. As they go on a walk, the weather changes and they talk through several emotions and what they can do to feel better.
It clearly shows the link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and offers a compassionate explanation of those things and how we can keep our thoughts and feelings from leaking out into uncontrollable actions.
I can't wait to show this to my kiddo (8) who struggles with his thoughts and feelings and behavior. I think he will really connect with it. I would definitely recommend it to any parent whose child is struggling and to elementary school classrooms where I suspect it could come in very handy.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Projects for providing an e-arc for review.
"It's hard to think and feel at the same time."
This is SUCH an important line in this book. As a special educator, dealing primarily with students with social-emotional learning goals, we ask them all the time "why do you feel this way" and "what will help?" without realizing that these little humans are still trying to figure out how to just identify their feelings!
Then the book goes on to give the most basic of advice - breathe. move.
The illustrations are gorgeous. The writing is simple, but so thoughtful and effective. This is a book I would purchase for my class in a second.
This is such a wonderful way to open the conversation on feeling your emotions, with your children or family members! Beautifully illustrated, with a beautiful message and the love radiates from the pages. I will definitely be purchasing this for my own kids in the future as I think it can help a lot in understanding ourselves, our kids and everyone around us
Great book! Love the illustrations and easy to understand words. Great job at explaining how feelings work and working to normalize all feelings!
From one of my favorites, Karamo Brown from Queer Eye, this one is all about encouraging children and letting them know it’s okay to express and voice their emotions, feelings, and anxieties. A story about a father and a son caught in a storm and their attempt to navigate through the storm despite the uncomforting circumstances and bad weather and uncertainty, this one is a metaphor for the bigger theme of this lovely children’s book. Bonus: This one is interactive as well with some fun activities for the kiddos once they’ve made it through their daily reading.
"It's hard to think and feel at the same time."
I have adored Karamo Brown's work for a while now, and this latest installment is just as wonderful. A brief tale of a father and son, exploring the different feelings we have and affirming that it's never wrong to have a feeling. The additional resources in the back/at the end and especially the Emotions Wheel are excellent too! Even as an adult I learned more, and it is written in such a way that parents and teachers would have an easier time discussing feelings and breathing through them.
A young boy talks with his father about his emotions. They discuss positive and negative feelings and how it is okay to feel the way we do. His father shows the boy strategies to help him calm down when faced with fear or anger.
Read the book to promote discussions on feelings, self-management, self-awareness, it's okay to feel different emotions and dialogue.