Fun fact – psychologist Carl Rogers once said the only way past tough feelings is through them. Dr. Coombes gets this perfectly in When I Feel Sad (2015, part of her “Big Feelings” series). Forget boring textbooks; this is more like picking a caring aunt’s brain while coloring together.

The secret sauce? Activities woven into the story – think tracing calming spirals or “try this” prompts scribbled in sidebar bubbles. I spotted one exercise about drawing your sadness as a creature (mine looked sorta like a deflated balloon?). An old parenting blog I stumbled upon called it a “starter toolkit for little hearts,” which nails it.

Why teachers love it: It actually listens to kids instead of just lecturing. When the book says “Sometimes pizza won’t fix it” – truth! – and offers better solutions.

Good for:

• Kids who bottle up feelings
• Creating family conversations (“Remember the book’s cloud analogy…”)
• Classrooms with cozy reading corners

If you vibed with The Color Monster pop-up book, this is its practical cousin. Sure, the tear-drop characters aren’t Caldecott-worthy (saw this crit on a Reddit thread), but who cares? It works.

P.S. Our YouTube has Dr. Coombes’ When I Feel Angry! read-aloud live now – complete with goofy voice-acting and actual glitter used in the thumbnails.