Time to share my weekly children’s book reviews. My kids get so excited to see what books I have to read before naps, bedtime, or at breakfast. There are some really cute ones to add to your children’s summer reading book lists!

Scooper and Dumper and the Pumpkin Parade by Lindsay Ward comes out July 8th. My three boys loved the trucks adventures with the pumpkins.

A Rubbish Journey by Jonah Rideout was a really cute chapter book my daughter loved. The story was fun, and entertaining. It comes out June 24.

Keep Trucking by Raven Howell was an adorable book. The illustrations were super cute and my boys again loved the truck story. It comes out May 10.

Ain’t It Funny by Margaret Gurevich was another fun chapter book about following your dreams. My daughter really enjoyed this one. It comes out October 14.

What Are They Feeling by the School of Life is one that is so sweet and great to explain emotions. The kids and I had some fun conversations to follow this one. It comes out September 11.

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Kar is a wonderful story of friendship, and takes you back to 1860. It comes out October 7.

Hailma Superhero Princess by Emily Joof was adorable. The storyline and illustrations were very exciting for the kids. It comes out September 2.

The Sun Never Hurries by Roxane Turcotte was my favorite. Such a precious story and the illustrations were darling. It comes out June 24.

Make a Little Wave by Kerry O’Malley Cerra is a really exciting story! My daughter said this was her favorite. She loved the characters. It comes out September 30.

To Mimi’s House We Go by Susan Meissner was another of my favorite. The story, the pictures, the adventure it took you on was absolutely precious. A fun one for the holidays. Comes out Sept 9.

Leonardo Cohen by Maria Isabel Sanchez-Vegara was a cute story! My kids love to learn new things and these are always so full of knowledge to take away. It comes out August 5.

Fall Feast by Sean Taylor made our family very excited for playing in the leaves. It comes out August 5.

Diwali by Sital Gorasia Chapman was such a good one for kids to learn about another culture. It comes out August 5.

📚 What Are They Feeling? 📚

Published by The School of Life

This is a wonderful guide to the feelings of those around us. It teaches children to look for clues about how somebody could be feeling. I really liked the way it explained how we can never truly know how someone is feeling, a point that was reiterated throughout the book.

The book tackles the difficult task of explaining the difference between sympathy and empathy. The explanations are incredibly clear but also highlight how tricky this skill this!

I love the illustrations that go with the book. This is definitely one that I will be using with the classes in school to further develop our work on emotional intelligence.

This is a review copy from @netgalley but all views are my own.

Another fabulous book by The School of Life, about feelings and empathy, aimed at mainly children.
This book offers an engaging read. As most books with lots of pictures, the quality and the style of the pictures impact the reader’s experience. The illustrations have a cartoony style, that reminded me just a tad bit of the Pink Panther animated show style. It is a cross between active/action styled comic and modern digital and minimalistic illustrations. The style being fresh was a great bonus and plus, it both added a layer to the narrative and did not shine more than the content.

As for the content, it is suitable for all ages of children, but those in the later years of primary school and early teens would appreciate the most. Still a good reference book for older children, young adults, educators and adults. And a good read aloud for the younger kiddos, but they would not grasp all the concepts in the book yet. It would be more of a conversation starter and one can always discuss the pictures with the younger children.

This book is structured in a way that the information becomes more nuanced, layered and detailed gradually. Hence the earlier pages can be shared with the small ones. That is what I enjoyed most about this book. For my child, we will need to read it a few times for the nuances to be grasped. I liked the gentle reminders, the conversation around assuming people’s feelings, judging them for their feelings or pressuring them to feel something else. The book covers some really important and annoying situations many adults still find themselves in. More over, it does not claim to be more than what it is. This is different from some other lovely books out there that depict and explain basic common feelings. This is more specific by commenting on more difficult situations and complexities, and there is a good emphasis on empathy.