When it comes to battling a bad mood, we love turning to books. When my daughter is angry, I love to pull out a book about anger that I know will make her laugh, or will remind her how to deal with it. If she is worried or frustrated, I try to find books that will help her combat those big emotions. So we are thrilled to share some of our favorite new books about emotions for kids, and introduce you to some stories for battling a bad mood.

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Mootilda’s Bad Mood

Written by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call and illustrated by Claudia Ranucci

Mootilda is a young cow who woke up in a bad mood. As she goes about her day, grumbling and huffing, her bad mood gets worse as accidents and and frustrating things keep happening to her. What she doesn’t realize is that everything that she does is affecting the nearby chickens too. When they commiserate about their bad days together, they find a way to get past their bad mood. The rhyming text is full of hilarious cow puns, which will definitely have kids laughing out loud. They will also enjoy searching the detailed illustrations for proof of the bad day that the chickens are having as well.

This is a great book for teaching kids that our own bad moods can affect others, and that it’s important to remember that others around us may be having a bad day as well.

Related Post: Children’s Books for a Bad Day

The Worrysaurus

Written by Rachel Bright and illustrated by Chris Chatterton

Little Worrysaurus is a dino that likes to have a plan. He likes to know what is coming, and he plans accordingly. One day when he is out preparing for a picnic, a little lizard crosses his path and tells him that a storm is coming. Now instead of enjoying the sunny day, Worrysaurus is consumed with worry. Luckily, his mother taught him how to guard against worries, and enjoy the present without worrying about the future. The rhyming text is paired with adorable illustrations of the cute little dinosaur, and the colors and fonts help show the growing worries that he faces.

The simple strategies that Worrysaurus uses are easy for kids to lift right out of the book and use in their own lives, making this a great book for teaching kids how to handle their anxieties.

Ravi’s Roar

Written by Tom Percival

This entry in the Big Bright Feelings series is one of Little Bookworm’s favorites. The story introduces the reader to Ravi, a young boy who heads out on a picnic with his family. But throughout their trip, Ravi faces lots of frustrating hurdles. He is too short for the monkey bars, too small for the slide, and he is the last one to the ice cream cart, which is now empty. Ravi starts to lose his temper and he soon grows into an angry tiger. As he storms around the playground letting out his frustrations on everyone with great big roars, he learns the important lesson that people don’t want to be around roaring tigers. The illustrations often use muted colors or black and white backgrounds to put the focus of the image on the brightly colored characters. Especially when Ravi turns into a bright orange tiger.

This book has been a helpful reminder to Little Bookworm that throwing a tantrum and letting your bad mood out in loud roars is not going to make people want to play with you. But the end of the book also reminds all of us that sometimes a little growl may still come out.

Related Post: Teaching Kids to Deal with Multiple Emotions

What’s Worrying You?

Written by Molly Potter and illustrated by Sarah Jennings

This informative guide to worries can be helpful for both kids and parents. The book addresses many common fears or uncomfortable situations that kids may face. From seeing something horrible on TV to hearing your parents arguing, the book offers validation for what kids may be feeling, and offers easy actionable steps they can take. Each two page spread focuses on a different fear, with lists of things they may be feeling or thinking when faced with the situation, as well as a quick and easy tip to face that anxiety head on. There are also lists of things to remember, to help them combat the fear in the future. The cartoon style illustrations feature a diverse cast of kids and highlight the emotions that kids can feel in those situations.

This book can be really helpful for families who are unsure how to address fears and how to create strategies to deal with them going forward.

Wolf Boy

Written by Andy Harkness

We have all been “Hangry” at some point in our lives. In this darkly illustrated book, Wolfboy is stomping through the forest searching for rabbits. He calls out to the rabbits and growls and howls. The longer it takes him to find them, the louder and angrier he gets. When he finally finds the rabbits, they have a special surprise for him. The text repeats through the book as Wolfboy’s emotions grow, and kids will love reading out the emotional words. The illustrations are done in very dark colors, with detailed clay characters and details.

This is a great book for addressing the “hangry” feeling that we can all get when we go too long without eating.

Calm Down Kit

In addition to books about emotions, we also use this printable Calm Down Kit to handle big feelings. I created this kit to help my daughter when she feels a tantrum coming on and it has really helped! Whether she is using the handprint sign to focus herself, or repeating the mantras to keep herself calm, she is learning to use them when she needs a moment to herself. Check it out over in my shop!

What are your favorite new books about emotions for kids? Do you use stories to battle bad moods? Share them in the comments below!

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