Feelings are Wild by Sophy Williams, illustrated by Gavin Scott

Title: Feelings are Wild

Author: Sophy Williams, illustrated by Gavin Scott

Genre: Educational

Publisher: Allen and Unwin/Albert Street Books

Published: 27^th June 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 24

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: With gorgeous illustrations and a delightful rhyming text, Feelings are Wild is the perfect invitation for kids to talk about all the ways they feel.

It’s true!

Feelings are WILD!

But whether we are grumpy or glad, brave or sad, with a big hug, a kind word, or a little time we can embrace all our wild and wonderful emotions.

A warm and playful counting book to help little kids understand their big feelings.

~*~

This new book from Sophy Williams combines animals, counting, and feelings – all things that are important to young readers, as they are learning to recognise different animals and learning to count, and also, when they are starting to learn about the different feelings they have as they are growing up. Count up to ten from one grumpy koala to ten excited quokkas, and then back down again, to check in on the worried, restless, and grumpy friends from nine surprised kittens who were worried before, to three restless, and now peaceful lion cubs and finally, to one safe, warm, and yawning koala. Each two-page spread is colourful and delightful, evoking a range of emotions that children go through during the day, whilst playing, whilst eating, and all sorts of activities.

Feelings are Wild is a special book that children will love to read, as the lyrical rhymes go up and down with the emotions the animals are feeling as Sophy builds up from grumpy koalas, to frustrated crocs, sad possums, and worried penguin, and beyond. When the negative feelings are present, the language feels heavier, as though you need to read slowly and then as you hit ten excited quokkas, it feels like the positive emotions make the language lighter, and whilst reading it, I could sense the up and down sensations of each emotion, evoking a sense of delight and understanding that everyone feels these emotions and for little kids, that it is okay to have these big feelings. I liked that by the time I got to the end of the book, through the lovely illustrations and Sophy’s beautiful rhymes, we see how the emotions and feelings each animal child feels is resolved, helped, and how it changes. It is a good book to help children understand what they are feeling and how to cope with these feelings and emotions. It is one that I think that everyone – whatever our age – will find useful, because it recognises common feelings that we all have – and that society expects us to change easily or switch off. I think this book shows that whilst it is not easy to change how we are feelings and emotions, but there are ways to do work out and deal with our emotions. It is also reassuring because it shows that different techniques work for different people and different emotions and feelings, which to me, makes this a powerful book that I think could have a calming effect on people. We all need to know we are not alone when we have these feelings, and this is one of those books that does it in a fun, inclusive, inviting, and safe way for all ages, from babies to adults. It definitely gave me a sense of calm, and I hope other readers get what they need out of it too.