A sweet book which gives small children the tools they need to calm themselves during frustrating and scary times. It gives their emotions names. Angry. It’s ok everyone feels angry sometimes. It’s okay to feel angry but you need to calm yourself down. I put my hand on my heart and I say it’s ok I love you. Everyone feels scared sometimes. I’m ok hand on my heart I love you. Home libraries should have one that is taught often as a family. Yes, I absolutely would recommend to littles.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to this advance copy for my honest review.

This book uses various common situations and repetition to teach children a mantra they can say when things do not go as they planned. It is a great book for younger children, because it is simple to understand and the repetition will help them to learn and apply in their every day life. I found the back of the book to be most beneficial when reading this book to older children. The author has provided additional ways to attain self-compassion through easy activities children can do on their own.

This picture book has beautiful illustrations and a reassuring message. It explains to children how they can comfort themselves in the midst of hard emotions, and the illustrations show children from diverse racial backgrounds dealing with different challenges and tough feelings. This is a nice concept, but I found the book very repetitive.

The text explains a difficult emotion, normalizes it, and then repeats the exact same affirmation. This goes on for pages and pages, with no variation in response for all of the different scenarios. This would work better if it were half the length, and if I were sharing this with kids, I would paper clip some of the pages together and skip over them.

It's OK by Wendy O'Leary is a beautifully illustrated and important book. I love child-centred reads on mental health, emotional literacy and self-love. By the end of the book, my 4 year old knew exactly when to say "It's Ok - I love you.." It was so sweet. I found the "I am here.." a bit strange, and after finishing the book I had to explain to her that it is telling these phrases to herself, not to me. There is no minimizing of the emotions, it is clear with each emotion that everyone feels these feelings sometimes. I loved that there were additional exercises at the end of the book. This is a bookshelf must have at home, preschool, and school.

Thank you to Shambhala Publications, Inc., Bala Kids and NetGalley for this ARC!

The last few years I have seen an increase in childhood anxiety and I am always on the lookout for good books to share with my class to help with processing emotions. I love that this book acknowledges many kinds of uncomfortable feelings and provides a way for children to address these feelings with kindness and compassion for themselves. Being able to name emotions is an important step for emotional literacy. The exercises at the end of the book are great.

This would be a great addition to an SEL shelf in a classroom or guidance office. This book is filled with affirmations and exercises to help get emotions under control and provide reassurance. It also shows the reader that they are not alone in their emotions.

I love the children’s books that are published by this press. They are always well done and gently inspiring. That is definitely the case here.

It’s OK is teaching children self-compassion and how to identify their feelings, all the while recognizing that others have felt this way too. Here are crucial aspects of social emotional learning.

The text is simple and the illustrations are appealing. The repeated mantra is there for children to use. In addition there is a section at the end of the book that offers additional practices for self-acceptance.

This book belongs in both preschool and home libraries. It would be excellent for an adult and child to talk about this title together. This book might even help adults to be kinder to themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Shambhala Publications for this title. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this book. The repetition is frequent enough that kids will be able to join in reading the affirmation (even if they can't read), but it doesn't repeat so much that the story is boring.

The illustrations are lovely, and I really appreciate that there is a very diverse set of characters but the differences aren't the focal point. The characters are just existing and all going through a relatable emotional experience.

The lesson in the book, that feelings are valid but you are still okay and are still loved, is important. There's no minimizing or guilt with feeling upset "everyone gets upset". It's honest and I like that.

This is a book I'd like to purchase for both of my Libraries, and for at home.

If i could rate this book higher i would!
This childrens book was such a good one!
I loved the message it sent"Love Yourself" and it wasn't just a story, it was interactive.
The illustrations were beautiful as well.
The book wasn't too long or too short. and it had some tips in the back to further help.

As a mother with 2 autistic children, this book will be extremely helpful with recognizing our emotions and how to start to handle them. It gives you and the child that foot in the door to be able to explore your emotions and understanding that the emotion is valid in any situation.

I enjoy the simple text and repetitive positive affirming message. I did find the end part 'I am here' a little awkward but overall a good message to help children learn how to ground themselves and learn emotional regulation.

I loved all the accompanying illustrations except for the feeling left out example. Choosing to represent that conflict with a new baby felt poor taste in my opinion. Children struggle with friendships just as much as much as older kids and so showing a kid 'forgotten' because of a new baby really hit wrong.

Overall , rating 3.5 rounded up because its a cute book just slightly awkward and one poor depiction.