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In My Heart: A Book of Feelings, by Jo Witek, illustrations by Christine Roussey, 2014, New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1419713101.
Age/Interest Level: 2-4 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A heart can experience so many different emotions, but sometimes it can be difficult expressing them all. Here, a young girl explains how she feels and what it means.
Plot Summary: A young girl explains that her heart feels many different things at many different times. While she stays on each page, a die-cut heart is next to her, showing how it changes with what she feels. Sometimes she can be angry, and the heart showcases an explosion. Other times, she’s calm, just bobbing along and being content, and her heart feels like a drifting balloon. It all changes with a simple flick of the page.
Critical Evaluation: This a fantastic piece for explaining emotions. This can be such a difficult concept to explain, because emotions are not always logical. However, this work seeks to label emotions so that children understand what they are feeling and can explain it. The real genius in this book is with the illustrations and the die-cut heart. The illustrations are simple and only showcase the little girl. Between each page, only her expression and position change in order for readers to better access how she is feeling. The heart changes, too, but it is far more dramatic, sometimes showing an explosion and other times showing stars. These are ways of expressing abstract concepts in ways that a child can understand.
Why Included: Here is a work that has several interesting purposes. It’s a great way of explaining emotions to a toddler and cluing them into what they’re feeling. Those concepts might not initially sink in, but this work lays the seed. It would also be great as a tool for children as they continue to grow up who are on the Autism Spectrum. For those that might struggle assigning names to feelings or empathizing with certain emotions, this is a great tool.
Age/Interest Level: 2-4 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A heart can experience so many different emotions, but sometimes it can be difficult expressing them all. Here, a young girl explains how she feels and what it means.
Plot Summary: A young girl explains that her heart feels many different things at many different times. While she stays on each page, a die-cut heart is next to her, showing how it changes with what she feels. Sometimes she can be angry, and the heart showcases an explosion. Other times, she’s calm, just bobbing along and being content, and her heart feels like a drifting balloon. It all changes with a simple flick of the page.
Critical Evaluation: This a fantastic piece for explaining emotions. This can be such a difficult concept to explain, because emotions are not always logical. However, this work seeks to label emotions so that children understand what they are feeling and can explain it. The real genius in this book is with the illustrations and the die-cut heart. The illustrations are simple and only showcase the little girl. Between each page, only her expression and position change in order for readers to better access how she is feeling. The heart changes, too, but it is far more dramatic, sometimes showing an explosion and other times showing stars. These are ways of expressing abstract concepts in ways that a child can understand.
Why Included: Here is a work that has several interesting purposes. It’s a great way of explaining emotions to a toddler and cluing them into what they’re feeling. Those concepts might not initially sink in, but this work lays the seed. It would also be great as a tool for children as they continue to grow up who are on the Autism Spectrum. For those that might struggle assigning names to feelings or empathizing with certain emotions, this is a great tool.