When I’m uncertain how to bring up a subject with my children, I often I turn to books as a tool to start the conversation. Here is a list of Chinese picture books that I found helpful to teach my children about negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, frustration, sadness, or loneliness. Being able to identify feelings, positive or negative, can help children work through uncomfortable emotions and foster emotional intelligence.
Although these feelings make them feel bad, it does not mean that they are bad. We all have these feelings from time to time.
Books that Teach Children About Negative Emotions
Chinese Title: 小孩也會有煩惱
by 안단테
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Books.com.tw, Eslite.com
In the story, the little girl has a blue dot on her body. The more she worries the bigger the dot gets, but only she can see it. One night the little girl found that the little blue dot had become even bigger than herself! Now she’s really in trouble! What will she do to make it go away?
Chinese Title: 露比的煩惱
English Title: Ruby Finds a Worry
By Tom Percival
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Books.com.tw, Eslite.com
Meet Ruby — a happy, curious, imaginative young girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. Eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about. But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there’s a great way to get rid of them too . . . she just has to share her feelings.
Chinese Title: 悲傷, 讓我抱抱你
English Title: When Sadness is at Your Door
by Eland, Eva
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Gloria’s Bookstore, Books.com.tw, Eslite.com
In When Sadness Is at Your Door, Eva Eland brilliantly approaches this feeling as if it is a visitor. She gives it a shape and a face and encourages the reader to give it a name, all of which helps to demystify it and distinguish it from ourselves. She suggests activities to do with it, like sitting quietly, drawing, and going outside for a walk.
Chinese Title: 小黑雲
English Title: The Cloud
by Hannah Cumming
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Books.com.tw, Eslite.com
Everyone has bad days, and children are no exception. When a black cloud descends on a little girl at school, support from a classmate with a great deal of imagination helps to brighten up everyone’s lives.
Chinese Title: 家有緊張兮兮小怪獸
English Title: The Whatifs
by Emily Kilgore
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Books.com.tw
Cora is constantly worrying about everything. Because of this, the Whatifs love her. They sneak up to her and give her all kinds of doubts: big or small, silly or frightening, likely or impossible. As she prepares for an upcoming piano recital, the Whatifs cling on tighter and drag her down, making her anxious about messing up during the concert. Will she be able to change her worry-filled thoughts into hopeful ones?
Chinese Title: 想哭的時候
English Title: Everyone…
by Christopher Silas Neal
Language: Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
Shop: Books.com.tw
Christopher Silas Neal, praised by the New York Times for his “stunning retro-style illustrations,” invites young readers to explore how we feel what we feel, and how everyone else feels it, too. From the animals in the woods to the neighbors in their homes nearby, everyone has feelings and shares them in this whimsical story. Vivid, childlike art in a limited palette conveys a full spectrum of emotion. Young children easily frustrated by a popped balloon or overjoyed by a sky full of stars will relish this simple exploration of empathy.
