Kitten Corner: Books About Feelings!

This time on Kitten Corner I’m featuring a selection of books that look at a range of emotions, good and bad, through sweet animal stories. If you’d have asked me a couple of months ago, I would have said that was quite a narrow niche to find books in, but it just so happens we’ve read quite a few recently! As always with these posts, any books I received for review will be marked with a *, but the fact they were sent to me doesn’t affect my opinions.

Love by Emma Dodd*

Board book published on 14th January 2021by Nosy Crow

Oh, this is one that will make you cry if it hits you on the right day! This is a sweet, simple rhyming book that describes lots of different things that love is all about, accompanied by beautiful art of two rabbits, a baby and an adult. There are no genders assigned to either rabbit, and no explicit mention of who the adult rabbit is to the child (except in the blurb, where it says “mummy”, but I wouldn’t tend to read that with a child), so this would be a beautiful one to read together no matter what your relationship to your young reading partner is – mum, dad, grandparent, or any other caretaker, this book makes it clear that love is simple and pure and brilliant. It’s a beautiful book in both sentiment and illustration, and one I’ll be buying for many people, I think.

A Little Bit Worried by Ciara Gavin and Tim Warnes*

Paperback published on 4th February 2021 by Little Tiger Books

Those who find themselves worrying too much will definitely identify with Weasel here, as he battens down the hatches in an attempt to hide from a frightening storm. But he’s surprised to find his fortress has been breached, not by the storm, but by Mole, who’s determined to enjoy the bad weather. It’s a cute story about how sometimes, all it takes to let your worries go is a friend who’s willing to hold your hand and show you a different perspective, but the standout for me here was the art, which is wonderfully atmospheric, whether it’s the darkness of the whipping wind or driving rain, or the glowing orange warmth of Weasel’s hideaway. A very pretty book indeed.

For more on the subject of learning to let your worries go, Nosy Crow’s Jeremy Worried About the Wind is another good read – check out my review here!

I’m Sorry by Barry Timms and Sean Julian*

Paperback published on 4th February 2021 by Little Tiger Books

This story of two best friends who fall out over an assumption has a very important message: it’s not just saying “I’m sorry” that makes things better, it’s meaning it. I liked the way the story was presented, and thought the characters were really sweet and easy to understand emotionally, but the drama is over very quickly – I think that it could perhaps have gone slightly more in depth, maybe showing a few more begrudging apologies before the friends made up to really make the point that a cross “sorry” doesn’t fix things? Still, it would be a great way to spark a discussion on the subject, and the text flows nicely. The artwork is soft and warm, making this a really delightful read.