I can tell this is one I’ll be reading repeatedly to my daughter, because boy are we struggling with emotions big time lately. I found this helpful both for me and for her, especially in showing her that other children have big emotions when they really want (or don’t want) something as well.

My toddlers and I read this for their bedtime story this evening and while it held my older toddlers attention (3 and a half year old) my younger toddler (1 and a half year old) didn't really take to this story. The topic of feelings has been a big one in our house lately and I found the explanations on feelings in this book to be very helpful and easily understandable for older toddlers. The illustrations were cute and I loved the portrayal of using a squishy to help self-regulate your emotions.

A great book that describes emotions in a fun and informative way for a younger reader. Great for preschool age kids and a solution based way of controlling emotions. My 4 year old really enjoyed it and for me that's an excellent review.

This book is a beautiful way to explore the world of feelings for little children.

What I love about this book?

1. It does a good job of showing young readers that feeling happy, sad, angry, and worried is just a part of life. Just like what Dawson experiences at the zoo.
2. Another good thing about this story is how it gently shows that even though feelings tell us stuff, we can learn to manage them instead of them taking over.

When things don't go perfectly for Dawson at the zoo (like no carousel or treat), young readers will see how his emotions react. But of course...the story doesn't stop there! With a little help, the book shows how Dawson figures out that he can be in control of how he feels. Kids will understand from this that they are strong enough to deal with their feelings in good ways.

This book is not just interesting. It also has a really good lesson for everyone. Both adults and young readers will see that it's easy to begin conversations about feelings and learn simple ways to manage them. The story reminds us that our feelings help us, and we can learn to guide them. This is a STRONG LESSON kids will remember even after the story ends.

-----
Disclaimer: Thanks to the author who wrote this book and Netgalley for letting me read it. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

We have been struggling with my two young kids lately with emotion regulation. This book made it to easy to show them what their emotions are for and how to deal with them in a healthy way. My kids loved the colors and the illustrations. I can't wait to have a hard copy in our personal library.

Dawson explores his emotions through a trip to the zoo with his mom. I like the use of color to show his emotions and it makes it easy for young readers to understand emotions getting too big. I liked the use of the squishy toy for regulation. Overall my son and I enjoyed the book.

This children’s book is exactly the kind of book I wish I had growing up. I read this with my 4 year old daughter and it was fun, engaging, and super relatable story that helps kids understand their emotions in a way that actually makes sense to them. Dawson is such a lovable character, and watching him learn how each emotion has an important role to play is both heartwarming and incredibly helpful.

The message is clear without being preachy, and the illustrations are colorful and full of energy—perfect for keeping little ones interested. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or counselor, this book is a total gem for opening up conversations about feelings, self-regulation, and mental wellness.

Bottom line: it’s fun, smart, and packed with tools kids can really use. Highly recommend!

Thank you Boys Town Press for an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Adorable! I liked the concept of using the squishy to help regulate the emotions to a more manageable solution.

I received an electronic ARC from Boys Town Press through NetGalley.
Dawson is back and showing readers how to keep a handle on emotions when they get too big. He explains that each emotion - joy, sadness, anger, worry - has a job to do and that they fit inside him most of the time. We go along on a trip to the zoo and see all four emotions come out as he and his mom explore the zoo. The illustrations capture the emotions and show readers how it may look when they get out of control. I love the squishy toy that can hold the excess emotions and how he uses it. Families can read this together to open dialogue on acknowledging everyone has emotions and finding ways to recognize when they are taking over and the readers are losing control.

The book's use of color to convey all of the emotions is fantastic; it effectively conveys the story's message.

Children can learn a lot from this illustration about the importance of emotions and that not all negative feelings are bad. It's also a wonderful method to teach kids the value of understanding how emotions work and how to properly handle them.

The colorful illustrations that help kids visualize and understand emotions seem very useful. I like that there is an example of four different types of emotions, and that they’re not only presented as negative. I feel that the explanations of worry and anger are a bit overly simplistic (I would add that worry can keep you safe, but sometimes you worry about things that won’t happen; anger isn’t always justified either but can be used to stand up for others who are treated unfairly, but it’s probably appropriate for young children. The tips on the back for parents and caregivers seem helpful. I would have liked the book even better if there had been more strategies explicitly suggested than the squishy, though many good strategies are implied through Dawson’s choices and actions, and the squishy is a good start.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boys Town for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions.

This review will be posted on Amazon and Instagram within one week of the book’s publication.

My children have enjoyed reading about awesome Dawson, as he learns the important job of his emotions and some strategies that can help to regulate those emotions from becoming too big to handle. The bright and fun illustrations work well for the storyline, and the trip to the zoo.

I appreciate that no emotions are negative in this story and there is mention of the thoughts and bodily sensations that can accompany varying emotional states. The tips at the back of the book, are a wonderful reminder for us adults to be the calm in the storm of our child’s dysregulation; and to focus on safety, connection and regulation

Thanks to Boys Town Press, Julia Cook and NetGalley for this e-ARC to read and review.

This book is a wonderful resource for early social-emotional development. The addition of a physical squishy item is a clever strategy.

This is a lesson book in how not all "bad" emotions are "all bad." I enjoyed this book and its illustrations.

3.5 rounded up to a 4 Super cute children’s book teaching kids how to handle emotions in a constructive way and how each emotion has a role to play. The only thing I didn’t like was they tried to sell a squishy at the end of the book. Young children wouldn’t necessarily understand but it made me feel a bit weird. Instead it could be like any stuffed animal can be your squishy!

My 5 year old and 8 year old loved this. They like the inside out movies and this was like a book version. It is helpful colour coding the emotions so they followed the story v well.

This is a great story to help kids understand the role of their emotions and how to work on keeping them in check. Very well done, and I think parents and kids will both appreciate this one.

Fans of the movie Inside Out will love this. Helpful for anxious kiddos to understand their emotions!

When my son saw this cover in my NetGalley shelf he immediately recognized Dawson from the previous book and asked to read it. I was surprised because my son is highly sensitive and doesn't always like to talk about emotions but he loves these books. I think they're a great way to teach about emotions without kids having to talk about them, which works really well with my son. The author does a great job taking us through Dawson's process and showing how to use emotional regulation and coping skills. I would definitely recommend this as an addition to any public, classroom, or elementary library or as an addition to any SEL-based curriculum or program. It's also just a good read-aloud and a way to talk about how everyone gets frustrated sometimes and how our emotions aren't bad but instead are there to help us. Highly recommend! (Appropriate for Pre-K - 2).

This is a great book that teaches kids that emotions aren't necessarily "bad" and they all serve a purpose. However, I think that that message got a little bit lost towards the end of the book. What I mean by this: at the amusement park, it's not quite clear what Dawson's emotions are trying to do for him. A good example of this is anger. It doesn't seem like it serves a specific purpose with the carrot sticks, and that kind of causes the lesson to lose its strength. That being said, I think (for the most part) the other emotions made sense at the carnival, and everything came through pretty clearly. Lastly, I love how the author rewrote each "scene" with Dawson being effective with his emotions and making use of his squishy. I also give major kudos to the creators of this book for advertising the little squishy, so that young readers can manage their big emotions and follow Dawson's lead. Bravo!

This is another book I read with my 5 year old about emotions. I like how this gave a scenario where he reacted to all the big emotions in a bad way and then when the thing actually happened, he knew how to react better. I also liked the tips page.

Thank you Boys Town Press, NetGalley and Julia Cook for the ARC. All opinions stated are my own.