From happy to sad and everything in between, these five stories explore the gamut of emotions
In our house, the best time is story time. No matter what the day has been like, or where in the world we are, when we get ready to read a book together, our bodies quiet down and our hearts are wiped clean. We are all paying attention. In One More Story, I want to share some of our favorites with you, from our shelf to yours. All of the books are picture books, to be read aloud and looked at. Some of them are classics and others newer titles, but all deserve a timeless spot in your collection. I have found a bedtime story is the one promise you can always keep. These are the ones we are always happy to read, over and over again. From happy to sad and everything in between, these five stories explore the gamut of emotions.
The Carrot Seed
By Ruth Krauss
This is a lovely book about that elusive, indispensable feeling: hope. Husband and wife, Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson, tell a simple story using only shades of brown, mustard, and white. Although the reader may worry about the outcome, the main character (a child who plants a seed) keeps the same calm face throughout the story. Published in 1945, in less than one hundred words, the book distills the meaning of faith and the special power of children to keep it intact.
When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry
By Molly Bang
Sophie is happily playing with her stuffed gorilla when her sister decides to take it away—and her mother agrees it’s time to give sister a turn. Sophie is furious, a roaring volcano to be exact, so she runs out of the house. With every page, as Sophie walks through the woods and notices what’s around her, the anger becomes sadness, then thoughts, then peace. The author uses colors to evoke the different stages of Sophie’s anger, from bright red fire to soothing blue waters. Readers will relate to the child’s fury as they see it played out, and take comfort in the way “everything is back together” in the end.
How are you Peeling? Foods with Moods
By Saxton Freymann
Parsnips frown, kiwis yawn, onions laugh, and tomatoes comfort green peppers in this unusual book about the moods we go through. Illustrated with close-up photographs of carved fruits and vegetables, the pictures are bright and engaging, showcasing a range of emotions in a light and humorous tone. Children will have fun guessing which orange is bored and which is worried or why the crab apple might be embarrassed.
Ish
By Peter H. Reynolds
The author will agree that it’s hard to capture everything this book is about. Ish tells the story of Ramon, a boy who loves to draw and who risks losing his passion after he starts doubting his skills. Ish is illustrated in whimsical drawings made of watercolor, ink, and tea. Reynolds uses color, scale and movement masterfully to convey Ramon’s emotion and the result is a beautiful, little tale about learning to embrace your gifts ish-fully.