Reading aloud is an excellent activity to share with your child from infancy through adolescence. It demonstrates to children that adults care enough to spend this intimate time with them. Also, books can be a great catalyst for conversation about feelings. Below is a list of favorite children’s books that deal with difficult emotions like anger, sadness, and fear. As you read them with your child, take time to talk about the books’ themes and the emotions they elicit.

BOOKS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Feelings by Aliki (Greenwillow, 1984) A catalogue of emotions with great illustrations that can help young children form a vocabulary for feelings like sorrow, joy, love, hate, pride, fear, and frustration.

Going to the Potty by Fred Rogers, illustrated by Jim Judkis (Putnam, 1986) Trust public television’s Mister Rogers to help little ones sort through their feelings about a major life transition.

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd (Harper & Row, 1972) Baby bunny fantasizes about running away from his mother. With each fantasy, mother reassures him that she’ll always be there to find and protect him.

BOOKS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz (Atheneum, 1972) It all starts with a cereal box that has no prize and goes downhill from there.

The Berenstain Bears series by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Random House) In each book, the Bear Family comes up with reasonable solutions to common problems of family life. Topics include nightmares, telling the truth, limiting television, getting along with friends, money woes, going away to camp, and more.

Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, illustrated by Byron Barton (Macmillan, 1990) A little boy’s outrageous fantasies about moving to a new city provide an opportunity for families to talk about fears, real and imagined.

Harry and the Terrible Whatzit by Dick Gackenbach (Clarion, 1978) A reassuring story about a little boy who follows his mom into the cellar to protect her from the monsters he imagines lurk there.

The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Ben Schecter (Harper, 1969) A brief story about the ups and downs of spending time with a close friend.

Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber (Houghton Mifflin, 1972) Ira must decide whether to bring his teddy bear when he’s invited to spend the night at a friend’s house.

Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 1990) How Lily the mouse copes with her anger and jealousy over the arrival of a new baby brother.

Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate, illustrated by Diane deGroat (Crown, 1975) One charming bunny’s experience of this exciting milestone.

No Nap by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Susan Meddaugh (Clarion, 1990) A humorous book about a little girl with the manic energy of one who is very tired but will not sleep.

Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak (Harper, 1981) In this richly illustrated book, Ida enters a dreamscape to rescue her baby sister, who’s been kidnapped.

Owen by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 1993) Owen and his mother worry what he’ll do with his security blanket when he goes to school for the first time.

Shy Charles by Rosemary Wells (Dial, 1988) This timid little mouse has trouble with dance lessons and saying thank you to strangers, but can call for help in a real emergency. Once the crisis is over, he goes back to being his retiring self.

Uncle Elephant by Arnold Lobel (Harper, 1981) Separation anxiety is the theme of this book, which deals with a little elephant who fears his folks have been lost at sea.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963) A well loved book about Max, who is sent to bed without his supper and then dreams of wild, scary, but charming monsters.

William’s Doll by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pene du Bois (Harper, 1972) William’s father, brother, and friends discourage him from wishing for a doll. But the little boy’s grandmother puts the matter in perspective for the whole family.

BOOKS FOR MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

 Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle (Scholastic, 1991) Issues of loyalty, friendship, and privacy are addressed in this tale of two fourth-grade girls, one a misfit who draws the other into her fantasy world of elves.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy M. Montgomery (Bantam, 1908; reissued, 1983) The adventures of eleven-year-old orphan Anne Shirley, whose hot temper and exuberant personality challenge her foster family on Prince Edward Island at the turn of the century.

The Bears House by Marilyn Sachs (Dutton, 1987) An ill-kempt ten-year-old, whose mother is sick and whose father deserts them, suffers the taunts of her classmates. To escape her pain, she retreats into the fantasy world of a classroom dollhouse.

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Macmillan, 1940) A South Seas tale of a boy, teased by peers, overcoming his fear of the sea.

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, illustrated by Louis Slobod-kin (Harcourt Brace, 1944) A sensitive Polish immigrant girl’s struggles to fit in with her elementary school classmates.

Matilda by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake (Viking, 1988) Brilliant and resourceful Matilda must cope with outlandishly cruel parents and a fiendish headmistress. She finds refuge through the friendship of a loving teacher.

BOOKS FOR OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (Bradbury, Dell, 1970) Nearly twelve, Margaret chats often with God as she faces her fears and anticipation about growing up.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Little, Brown, 1990) This exciting story of a wise and kind twelve-year-old runaway orphan touches issues of racism, homelessness, and community violence.

One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox (Bradbury, 1984) Ned, a boy isolated from friends and family, must come to terms with his guilt over shooting out the eye of a wild cat.

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers (Harper & Row, 1988) A twelve-year-old boy from Harlem copes with pressures at home and school at the same time he finds himself becoming the leader of a street gang.

List taken from the book — Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman PhD