We’ve had a lot of big emotions here lately. In the past year Big Kid has gotten a new sister, started pre-school, been put under lockdown because of Covid-19, started distance learning, and she’s only 3. That’s enough to make anyone emotional!
Overall she’s been handling everything like a champ, but there are times each day, when big emotions creep in. We’ve been careful to teach her that all emotions are ok, and should be expressed, but it is not always ok to act on those emotions – ie. hitting, screaming in the house, pushing her sister. Mindful Cat by Amy K. Cheung & Paula Assadourian is a great book to help her learn to identify, and take control of those emotions. It’s actually a good message for anyone!
The Story: As Mindful Cat goes about her day, she finds that “sometimes things don’t go your way”. She finds she gets scared, weary, sad, or mad. As a mindful cat, she takes a big breath in and lets everything out with a meowww before she chooses how to act on her emotions. She also tries to listen to the present moment in time.
This is a beautiful, playful way to teach children how to be mindful of their emotions and be present in the moment. We have read it multiple times at bedtime, taking nice deep breaths to get ready for sleep. The illustrations are soft, expressive, and perfectly compliment the book’s message. Big Kid said “I like the way it makes me feel”.
Little Kid (1 year old) looked through the book multiple times screaming “cat!” every time she saw the cat. The darling end pages blew her mind.
To order this beautiful and timely book head over to the website
Kid's Lit Life 