What Feelings Do When No One's Looking

 Bibliography: Oziewicz, T., & Zając, A. (2022). Trans. by Jennifer Croft. What Feelings do When No One’s Looking. Elsewhere Editions. ISBN: 978-1-953-86128-3

Plot Summary: Some of the more complicated emotions, such as compassion and delight, are personified as fuzzy creatures in order to show children what they might be feeling in less complicated language.

Critical Analysis: The repetitive pattern of sentence structure is helpful for young readers. Every emotion or feeling begins "[Emotion] does [an action].  Though some of the language might be difficult for a young reader on their own, reading with a parent would be best so the topic could also be discussed. For the most part, the illustrations are shades of black, white and gray with muted shades of blue or red thrown in occassionally. As a reader, the color scheme brought a sense of serenity, even with emotions that may have a negative connotation.  The characters used for each emotion, though generally non-descript, seemed cute and cuddly, which also helped to make the reader comfortable.

Reviews:

Kirkus Reviews: "A nuanced, ruminative alternative to the general run of more limited, toddler-aimed emotional palettes.

Goodreads.com: "An adorably warm and fuzzy picture book about feelings for young readers."

Awards:

USBBY Outstanding International Books List, 2023

Connections:

Use in a Kindergarten class to pair with a lesson on feelings.  Then have students choose one of the feelings; they will draw a picture of that feeling and share with the class a time when they felt that way. 


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