Feelings, whoa, oh, oh, Feelings...

     

 Thank you, Morris Albert, for inspiring the title of this blog post. FEELINGS! On the surface these books may appear to be about being quiet or being loud or following rules but they are also about feelings. Feeling grumpy, for example. Or sad. Or frustrated. Littles can really struggle with how to express their emotions so these books would be a great way to explore positive ways to help them identify their emotions, learn emotion words, and learn how to express their emotions in a positive way!

 

Quiet Down Loud Town! by Alastair Heim.

Elephant thinks everyone is TOO LOUD! This makes him quite grumpy. Until he discovers that his town can also be TOO quiet. The illustrations are bright! The "noise sounds" delightful - though a bit of practice before reading out loud would be a good idea.
This would be an excellent book for an opposites storytime. Or a Quiet/Loud storytime. You can ask kids which they like best and let them demonstrate their own loud and quiet. 

Grumpy may be one of the most common preschooler emotions! This book gives you a great chance to explore grumpiness and how Elephant acted towards others when he was grumpy.

Sullivan, Who is Always Too Loud by Micol Ostow; illustrated by Brian Biggs.

Timing is everything. Sullivan is very loud. His mom explains that being loud could wake the baby or upset the neighbor downstairs -- but Sullivan has a hard time controlling his loudness. It just bubbles up inside and erupts. But he tries to hold it in. His mother praises him for his efforts and recommends counting to three as another way to stop and think if loudness would be a good idea - or a bad idea. School is also a problem. Sullivan just really likes being loud - but he gradually learns to control his loudness and to use it at more appropriate times. Because sometimes you need to be loud. Sometimes.
I don't think the author is implying that Sullivan should ignore his emotions or never, ever be loud. I believe they show that Sullivan can, with positive reinforcement, learn how to curb his enthusiasm. Both his mother and his teacher work hard to help Sullivan understand that sometimes loudness is not always the best choice. And that helps Sullivan be more aware of the choice he has to be quiet or loud. Sometimes.
This book would make a great addition to a storytime for Kindergarten. The kids could practice being quiet and loud. There might be a few kids who have never heard a Tarzan yell before (which Sullivan likes to imitate) so you could show them what it is like and have everyone practice! 

 

You can ask the littles in your life how they would respond if they were Sullivan. Do you think he was frustrated?  Some kids really don't like loud noises while others do.  

Two Many Birds by Cindy Derby

 

Welcome to a somewhat dystopian bird state where there is only one tree and lots of rules governing the use of that tree. Which are enforced by a rather grumpy, rude bird. One of the rules? No more than 100 birds on the tree at a time! But one day -- an egg in a nest hatches and inside are TWO birds! Alarms go off and the grumpy enforcer prepares to banish the fledglings. The other birds, however, have had enough of the inane rules so they join forces and fight off the enforcer. What now? Rules are necessary but maybe there is a better solution. And a small act of kindness sparks creativity! 

Lots of fun things to explore in this book! (For example, the enforcer is a VIB - Very Important Bird.) And there's no pooping in the tree so of course there has to be a Bird Port-a-Potty...  But also a great place to talk about rules. Who makes them, who enforces them, and why. And all the grumpiness! Why was the enforcer so grumpy? What helped them change?