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The Feelings Book
Sometimes I feel silly.
Sometimes I feel like eating pizza for breakfast.
Sometimes I feel brave.
Sometimes I feel like trying something new...
The Feelings Book vibrantly illustrates the wide range of moods we all experience. Kids and adults will appreciate Todd Parr's quirky intelligence as he pays special attention to the ever-changing, sometimes nonsensical emotions that we all feel. Targeted to young children first beginning to read, this book will inspire kids to discuss their multitude of feelings in a kid-friendly, accessible format, told through Parr's trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes.
Bilingual edition, The Feelings Book / El libro de los sentimientos , also available for purchase.
Sometimes I feel like eating pizza for breakfast.
Sometimes I feel brave.
Sometimes I feel like trying something new...
The Feelings Book vibrantly illustrates the wide range of moods we all experience. Kids and adults will appreciate Todd Parr's quirky intelligence as he pays special attention to the ever-changing, sometimes nonsensical emotions that we all feel. Targeted to young children first beginning to read, this book will inspire kids to discuss their multitude of feelings in a kid-friendly, accessible format, told through Parr's trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes.
Bilingual edition, The Feelings Book / El libro de los sentimientos , also available for purchase.
32 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2009
About the author
Todd Parr
103 books251 followersTodd Parr is a three-time New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children. He has inspired and empowered children around the world with simple, hopeful, and powerful messages such as “be kind”, “love yourself” and “be who you are,” all set with vibrant images in eye-catching primary colors. His books have received numerous awards and are available in nearly twenty languages. He also is the co-creator of the popular three-time Daytime Emmy©-nominated animated TV series, "ToddWorld" with Gerry Renert of SupperTime Entertainment. Several short films for Sesame Street have also been based on Parr’s work.
Parr devotes time to numerous philanthropic causes supporting pet adoption, children’s hunger, health, and literacy. He is a frequent reader and fundraiser for The Ronald McDonald House and serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Children’s Book Festival. His corporate collaborations include Best Buy, Stouffer’s, and the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank, among others.
A native of Wyoming, Parr currently lives in Berkeley, California.
Parr devotes time to numerous philanthropic causes supporting pet adoption, children’s hunger, health, and literacy. He is a frequent reader and fundraiser for The Ronald McDonald House and serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Children’s Book Festival. His corporate collaborations include Best Buy, Stouffer’s, and the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank, among others.
A native of Wyoming, Parr currently lives in Berkeley, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
January 26, 2019
"I feel like eating pizza for breakfast" is not a feeling.
November 17, 2016
I must admit, I was a little trepidatious when I uncovered this book; I'm not a feelings type. But I'm all for trying new things and also the faces on the front reminded me a little of the Little Miss and Mr. Men books by Roger Hargreaves and I loved those as a kid.
I'm glad I gave this a chance because it's actually quite delightful. It's not all about emotion and it's not sappy; sure, there are things like "sometimes I feel lonely" but there's also "sometimes I feel like kissing a sea lion" because in English "feel" works in both of those. I appreciate the playful and outlandish nature of the illustrations and also the things that the narrator feels like (I showed "sometimes I feel like dancing" to a friend of mine and he agreed that stick figure was me). A delightful read and a great way to acknowledge the incredible variety of "feelings" for kids.
I'm glad I gave this a chance because it's actually quite delightful. It's not all about emotion and it's not sappy; sure, there are things like "sometimes I feel lonely" but there's also "sometimes I feel like kissing a sea lion" because in English "feel" works in both of those. I appreciate the playful and outlandish nature of the illustrations and also the things that the narrator feels like (I showed "sometimes I feel like dancing" to a friend of mine and he agreed that stick figure was me). A delightful read and a great way to acknowledge the incredible variety of "feelings" for kids.
August 21, 2017
Elementary school counselor looking for books to use as part of my counselor intro lesson for kinder/first grade, and I've been a fan of Todd Parr since I found out about him a few years ago. Fun, colorful, and engaging book to read to kids (of all ages, really) about feelings. Definitely recommend!
Read
January 19, 2020Text to self:
This book reminds me about my own personal feelings. Throughout the day I can show three different feelings. From being happy, to moody, and angry. As I was reading this book, it expressed all of my feelings that I’ve experienced since I was a child up until the age of twenty eight. The important part of the book was how it talked about sharing your feelings with others and I remember sharing most of my feelings with my parents and friends. Once I shared how I felt it made me feel better inside.
This book reminds me about my own personal feelings. Throughout the day I can show three different feelings. From being happy, to moody, and angry. As I was reading this book, it expressed all of my feelings that I’ve experienced since I was a child up until the age of twenty eight. The important part of the book was how it talked about sharing your feelings with others and I remember sharing most of my feelings with my parents and friends. Once I shared how I felt it made me feel better inside.
November 21, 2017
I would recommend this book for the early primary grades, kindergarten through first grade. I would categorize this book at contemporary realistic fiction.
First of all, every Todd Parr book that I have ever read, I have loved! I love how he makes everything feel normal. Many people, especially children, feel like they need to keep all of their feelings bottled up. This book is perfect to teach children to do the opposite! You would have to elaborate and explain that when you are mad you can’t use your body to hit people, but it’s okay to feel angry. Children need to know how to recognize their emotions in order to learn how to handle them. I love how it is an easy going, fun book yet covers crucial topics. I would definitely incorporate this into my classroom. I want to designate an “emotions/feelings corner” where children can go when they are feeling upset/sad/mad. This would be a fantastic book to put in that area!
First of all, every Todd Parr book that I have ever read, I have loved! I love how he makes everything feel normal. Many people, especially children, feel like they need to keep all of their feelings bottled up. This book is perfect to teach children to do the opposite! You would have to elaborate and explain that when you are mad you can’t use your body to hit people, but it’s okay to feel angry. Children need to know how to recognize their emotions in order to learn how to handle them. I love how it is an easy going, fun book yet covers crucial topics. I would definitely incorporate this into my classroom. I want to designate an “emotions/feelings corner” where children can go when they are feeling upset/sad/mad. This would be a fantastic book to put in that area!
Read
February 15, 2015My daughter loves the clear pictures in this book. It's wonderful that she can recognize all of the emotions depicted, and she loves to read the book aloud to herself and to her toys. She's 2 1/2, so this book is right up her alley. Once she and I have read it together a few times, she's able to "read" it on her own. I love that the book teaches her that different feelings are ok, and that different feelings are normal.
December 16, 2007
I imagine this will be a particularly good book for our older internationally adopted children who speak a different language than we do. The illustrations are very simple and I think it will be a good segue into communicating about our feelings.
June 3, 2020
This review has been a long time in coming. Todd Parr didn’t fall onto my list of TBRs in any conventional way (though I just looked it up and one of his books is on the Best Picture Books list). It was more of a way for me to volunteer at my kids’ school. It shouldn’t be surprising that I used to volunteer annually for the Scholastic book fair. When the Montessori school, then, had a famous author coming to read to the pre-schoolers through middle schoolers, they reached out to those of us who had a track record of supporting literacy and a weird way of sniffing books as they arrange them, and I was asked to help host Todd Parr.
I had seen Parr’s books on the bookstore and library shelves and I bet you have, too. They stand out for their simplicity, thick black lines, and raucously bright primary and secondary colors, not to mention some of his titles. I’m not sure we had read any, at the time, though, so I checked some out from the library and then each of my kids bought a Todd Parr book to have signed at the event. I have the most adorable photos of both my kids, in their classrooms, laughing at one of Parr’s comment. (Will I be able to find these photo for you? Yes, I did!) This about sums up the event for me, which is that Parr was wonderful with the kids: funny, sincere, and calming and definitely had his elementary school shtick going on. He was also pleasant and professional, which I appreciated, rushing about making sure drawing boards were set up, kids were seated waiting in circles, and water bottles placed in key locations.
It was a dream day, for me.
Parr was a flight attendant before becoming an author. He has churned out books since 2002, a TV show called Todd’s World since 2004, and has come by a number of awards, especially honoring his contributions to the environment and equality. He partners with companies from Sesame Street (with shorts) to Cheerios, Toys R Us, and No Kid Hungry. His books often have messages, from helping kids get in touch with their feelings to learning how to care for the world. His series include the Otto books and the ToddWorld books. They are sometimes silly, but often have a subtle gravity to them. And with their being very easy to read and look at, they appeal to children at an age when they are just beginning to think about their world and how they should be in it.
Here are some of his titles:
The Don’t Worry Book
Be Who You Are
The Kindness Book
Love the World
The Joyful Book
Teachers Rock
The Goodbye Book
The Okay Book
This Is My Hair
Do’s and Don’ts
Things That Make You Feel Good, Things That Make You Feel Bad
Okay to Be Different
The Peace Book
The Feelings Books
Underwear Do’s and Don’ts
The truth is, if you have a child and they are going through something, it’s likely there is a Todd Parr book for that. There are books about different seasons, events, and experiences, and especially about how a child relates to themselves and to the world. Very peacenik-ky (or California-y) which many parents are happy to get on board with. My son’s favorite, at the time, was of course Underwear Do’s and Don’ts, and mine was The Feelings Book, which I could personally use to read every once in a while. There are detractors, of course, especially since Parr’s illustrations are rudimentary, though that is part of the point of them. You don’t buy these picture books for their beautiful illustrations. And, like other illustrators before him, Parr chooses to people his world with children and adults in every color of the rainbow except the colors of real skin—a way of making them both universal and encouraging of diversity.
I like Parr’s books, celebrating the child who’s reading (or being read to) and spurring them on toward being a great citizen and one who’s comfortable in their own skin. I would recommend a few of them make it to your child’s or grandchild’s bookshelf.
For more information on Todd Parr, go to toddparr.com. He has an active internet presence at his website.
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***
I had seen Parr’s books on the bookstore and library shelves and I bet you have, too. They stand out for their simplicity, thick black lines, and raucously bright primary and secondary colors, not to mention some of his titles. I’m not sure we had read any, at the time, though, so I checked some out from the library and then each of my kids bought a Todd Parr book to have signed at the event. I have the most adorable photos of both my kids, in their classrooms, laughing at one of Parr’s comment. (Will I be able to find these photo for you? Yes, I did!) This about sums up the event for me, which is that Parr was wonderful with the kids: funny, sincere, and calming and definitely had his elementary school shtick going on. He was also pleasant and professional, which I appreciated, rushing about making sure drawing boards were set up, kids were seated waiting in circles, and water bottles placed in key locations.
It was a dream day, for me.
Parr was a flight attendant before becoming an author. He has churned out books since 2002, a TV show called Todd’s World since 2004, and has come by a number of awards, especially honoring his contributions to the environment and equality. He partners with companies from Sesame Street (with shorts) to Cheerios, Toys R Us, and No Kid Hungry. His books often have messages, from helping kids get in touch with their feelings to learning how to care for the world. His series include the Otto books and the ToddWorld books. They are sometimes silly, but often have a subtle gravity to them. And with their being very easy to read and look at, they appeal to children at an age when they are just beginning to think about their world and how they should be in it.
Here are some of his titles:
The Don’t Worry Book
Be Who You Are
The Kindness Book
Love the World
The Joyful Book
Teachers Rock
The Goodbye Book
The Okay Book
This Is My Hair
Do’s and Don’ts
Things That Make You Feel Good, Things That Make You Feel Bad
Okay to Be Different
The Peace Book
The Feelings Books
Underwear Do’s and Don’ts
The truth is, if you have a child and they are going through something, it’s likely there is a Todd Parr book for that. There are books about different seasons, events, and experiences, and especially about how a child relates to themselves and to the world. Very peacenik-ky (or California-y) which many parents are happy to get on board with. My son’s favorite, at the time, was of course Underwear Do’s and Don’ts, and mine was The Feelings Book, which I could personally use to read every once in a while. There are detractors, of course, especially since Parr’s illustrations are rudimentary, though that is part of the point of them. You don’t buy these picture books for their beautiful illustrations. And, like other illustrators before him, Parr chooses to people his world with children and adults in every color of the rainbow except the colors of real skin—a way of making them both universal and encouraging of diversity.
I like Parr’s books, celebrating the child who’s reading (or being read to) and spurring them on toward being a great citizen and one who’s comfortable in their own skin. I would recommend a few of them make it to your child’s or grandchild’s bookshelf.
For more information on Todd Parr, go to toddparr.com. He has an active internet presence at his website.
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***
May 10, 2023
For my last picture book review, I chose to go with something for a younger audience. “The feelings book” by Todd Parr is in my opinion a great example for young children about how to describe certain emotions, wants and needs. I really like the abstract-like artwork that creates appealing visuals for young learners. The intended audience age for this book is preschool – kindergarten students. The simple text makes it an easy reading opportunity for teachers or parents that want to teach their children more about expressing how they feel. A big takeaway from this book could be that it is okay to express how you feel. Some young children (mostly by no fault of their own) teach themselves to suppress “big feelings” and keep what they want to say to themselves. Basically, the author/illustrator uses vibrant cartoon illustrations to depict feelings we all go through on a daily basis. It shows “good” and “bad” emotions and tells kids that they can outwardly show any feeling they have. I would most likely use this book in my future classroom, it's very informative and appealing for kids! I gave this book four out of five stars because even though I loved most of this book, some of the feelings didn’t make sense such as “I feel like eating pizza”. Yes I know we probably all say that from time to time, but pizza isn’t the feeling.
April 24, 2024
Intended Audience: The book is designed for young children, typically ranging from toddlers to early elementary school-aged kids, approximately 2 to 7 years old.
Key Themes & Topics: The key themes of this book are emotions, diversity, and communication. The central theme of the book revolves around emotional literacy, helping children identify and understand their feelings as well as recognize and empathize with the feelings of others."The Feelings Book" celebrates diversity by depicting a wide range of emotions and showing that it's okay to feel different things at different times. The book encourages open communication and expression of feelings by providing simple language and relatable scenarios that children can use to describe and share their emotions with others.
Why This Book: I chose this book because it promotes emotional intelligence. This book helps children develop emotional intelligence by providing a vocabulary for expressing their feelings and showing empathy toward others.
Key Themes & Topics: The key themes of this book are emotions, diversity, and communication. The central theme of the book revolves around emotional literacy, helping children identify and understand their feelings as well as recognize and empathize with the feelings of others."The Feelings Book" celebrates diversity by depicting a wide range of emotions and showing that it's okay to feel different things at different times. The book encourages open communication and expression of feelings by providing simple language and relatable scenarios that children can use to describe and share their emotions with others.
Why This Book: I chose this book because it promotes emotional intelligence. This book helps children develop emotional intelligence by providing a vocabulary for expressing their feelings and showing empathy toward others.
April 18, 2023
I’m not sure what the point of this book was. As far as I can tell there is nothing to be taken away from it and it isn’t in the least bit interesting. It talks about completely random things kids feel like doing that have zero correlation. I personally feel like it confuses kids on their feelings. For example, it talks about kissing a sea lion, making mud pies, and reading a book under covers. All are things that kids may feel like doing but it doesn’t say anything more than that. So, that makes me question how children can relate to having feelings or emotions from any of the following. The illustrations are lazy and the only way a kid may enjoy this is if the reader makes it so. I’m not sure what the point of this book was unlike “The Way I Feel” that talks about emotions children may feel and give examples why or when with illustrations that both match the emotion being spoken of and interesting to match.
February 13, 2020
Who doesn't love Todd Parr? When I had this out to review, three people came by and exclaimed their love of his books... this one in particular.
A former kindergarten teacher who used it on the first day of school.
A psychologist who uses it in group setting to validate someone's emotional spectrum.
A mom who's kid was having a hard time dealing with anger.
Todd Parr is awesome because his people and animals are post-racial, his print is easy for little kids to read, and he has the perfect mix of hysterical and poignant that lightens a potentially serious topic in every book: especially this one.
Use it for bibliotherapy in particular cases or class & family meetings to discuss the importance of accepting ALL our feelings.
Recommended!!!
A former kindergarten teacher who used it on the first day of school.
A psychologist who uses it in group setting to validate someone's emotional spectrum.
A mom who's kid was having a hard time dealing with anger.
Todd Parr is awesome because his people and animals are post-racial, his print is easy for little kids to read, and he has the perfect mix of hysterical and poignant that lightens a potentially serious topic in every book: especially this one.
Use it for bibliotherapy in particular cases or class & family meetings to discuss the importance of accepting ALL our feelings.
Recommended!!!
March 21, 2019
I really liked this book it was different. This book talk about feelings and emotions to help children explore them. It talks about different moods children can experience in a silly way. I think this would be a good book to have in the hospital because it would be a way to know how a child is feeling. Sometimes it is hard for a child to express their emotions and it is easier for them to open up through a book or an art activity. I think a good activity to do for this book is to have the patient draw or paint on a white sheet of paper the emotion they are experiencing after reading the book. This way we can know how to best help them.
October 16, 2024
I think that this book is great for children ages 5-8. The key themes of this book are emotions, diversity, and communication. The theme of the book revolves around emotional literacy, helping children identify and understand their feelings as well as recognize and empathize with the feelings of others. "The Feelings Book" shows diversity by showing a wide range of emotions and showing that it's okay to feel different things at different times. I think that this book promotes communication in children. I chose this book because I think that it's important for not only children, but for everyone to express their feelings instead of having to hide it.
February 7, 2023
The feelings book is a great book for students to relate their emotions to. I think this book would be a great book to read to kindergarten to first grade, to help students share how they are feeling. This could even be an everyday process, to have them express how they are feeling. I also love the illustrations through out the book with his cartoon drawings of how emotions are presented and the positive note at the end.
February 12, 2024
I absolutely love reading this book in my classroom! On days that are going great and days that aren’t! It’s silly for instance the sea lion page and the kids love standing on their heads! And also shows emotive faces. The last page is my very favorite, I did have a student respond to it one time by saying no and shaking their head which was huge for me as a teacher so I could support them and I wouldn’t have been able to get completely if not for this book!
February 20, 2019
This story is a great way to teach children about feeling different emotions. Throughout the story each emotion in the book is expressed through the characters body language and facial expression. Say a classmate took a toy from another student, instead of fitting over the toy they could express their feelings.
April 26, 2021
I kind of hate Todd Parr's illustration style. I'm fine with a minimalist/childlike approach but his are done without charm, and the color combinations are extremely off-putting.
The story redeems it, a little. I'm not sure what he's describing really are feelings per se, but they do capture a nuance of mood and desires and how we own them in our world, so I'll let it go.
The story redeems it, a little. I'm not sure what he's describing really are feelings per se, but they do capture a nuance of mood and desires and how we own them in our world, so I'll let it go.
July 23, 2021
Todd Parr's illustrations are great for infants because of the fun colors, high contrast, and simple lines and shapes. This book in particular has an excellent balance of the silly and the serious, creating a good starting place for little ones to understand and talk about their variety of feelings.
January 5, 2022
I wasn't sure I liked the art in this book at first, but it grew on me. Simple drawings in bright colors. It talks about a lot of simple feelings ("scared") and also silly ones ("like kissing a sea lion.") I love the encouragement at the end for kids to share feelings with someone they love. So, so important to normalize expressing feelings.
April 16, 2023
The Feelings Book written by Todd Parr is a book I have never experienced before. This book is unique and important in the classroom. Todd incorporates a variety of emotions and feelings throughout his book. These different feelings are important for children to understand because most of the feelings expressed in the book are common experiences. I loved this book!
August 11, 2018
A variety of emotions are presented in this colorful book. Illustrations depict scenarios that might bring on certain feelings or what some feelings look like. Opens the door for further discussion on emotions.
July 8, 2019
The Feelings Book by Todd Parr helps teach kids that it is ok to have feelings. Too many kids are taught to suppress their feelings, instead of learn how to recognize and cope with them in a healthy way. This book was a great addition in our household where we are open about our feelings.
April 20, 2020
Informational
Pre-K - 1st Grade
I am honestly disappointed in this book. I personally believe it showed more opinions than feelings. I thought it would be a good book to read to a little girl I watch, but instead, she told me it made her confused with the examples it gave.
Pre-K - 1st Grade
I am honestly disappointed in this book. I personally believe it showed more opinions than feelings. I thought it would be a good book to read to a little girl I watch, but instead, she told me it made her confused with the examples it gave.
September 20, 2020
My three years old had trouble expressing his feelings and had tantrums all the times. After reading this book, he is much better. He can tell me how he feels especially when he is angry. Great book for kids learning to express their feelings
May 12, 2021
Gotta say, there's something to be said for a book that covers the lesser-known hits ("Sometimes I feel like doing nothing" or "Sometimes I feel like kissing a sea lion") alongside classics like feeling like crying.
August 25, 2021
This is a fantastic book for kids! It's fun and easy-to-understand for kids to understand their emotions! The final message is very important. Whatever you're feeling within, don't keep it to yourself; share it with others. The illustrations are really cute and colorful.
September 10, 2021
I was hoping this book would be a good supplement to a teaching unit covering emotions. But, many of the “feelings” are not actually feelings, e.g. “Sometimes I feel like camping with my dog.” The book is cute, but not an ideal book for teaching children about different emotions.
August 4, 2022
I bought this book thinking it is about emotions, but it's actually about moods. "Sometimes I feel like doing nothing" was one of the pages. I just didn't love it, I finished it with wanting the author to say something about what to do with the feelings.
January 20, 2023
I like this book for the classroom. It shows that no matter what you are feeling that it is okay to feel things. It also says that you should communicate what you are feeling to people you love, and I think that is really important for young students to learn!
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