Short Guides for Awesome Kids: Announcing “Feel: A Short Guide to A Lot of Emotions for Awesome Kids” — the First in My New Children’s Book Series
5 books picture books in a pile. “Feel: A Short Guide to A Lot of Emotions”--an orange book with green and yellow lettering— is on the top of the pile.
Late on the night of the 2024 election, I asked myself, “What can I do? What skills and offerings do I have to support the continued fight for humanity and justice?”
As I thought about my own three children and the many other children in all of our lives — children we love and care for who will live in the world we are currently creating — an answer came to me: I must keep writing books for children (and grownups too!) that nurture well-being and cultivate justice.
I want to do my part to make sure that regardless of changes in law, school curricula, or institutional mandates — about diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), social emotional learning (SEL), or anything else — curious kids of all ages have access to the resources and knowledge they need to be whole, healthy, happy, justice-minded humans and future voters.
Since that night, the words and images for over 20 vibrant picture books for awesome kids (and grownups too!) have come to me in the middle of the night–and they keep coming. This middle-of-the-night inspiration has led to my new series Short Guides for Awesome Kids–vibrant, lyrical picture books focused on nurturing physical, mental, emotional, social and communal well-being. Each book is unique in its illustration and design–from bold, colorful graphics, to diverse people, to striking black and white images–but cohesive in messaging and intention.
The first book in the series, Feel: A Short Guide to A Lot of Emotions for Awesome Kids, uses bold graphic text and design to represent almost 70 different emotions. It is intended to help us expand our emotional vocabulary, improve our emotional intelligence, and learn to identify the many feelings that come and go for us all!
I decided to start with this book because I believe that our collective inability to feel, identify, name, and regulate our emotions is the root of many societal injustices and conflicts, as well as many of our own personal and interpersonal challenges. My hope is that this book will help us raise a generation with more of these skills, and that perhaps, in reading it with the children and young people in our lives, we will also help ourselves develop tools and capacities we have been missing.
Feel is currently available in hardcover and paperback from the Justice Leaders Press website, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon — where the Kindle Ebook will be FREE through November 8, 2025!
In addition to the picture book, I’ve created free downloadable lesson plans and worksheets to accompany the book that you can use for yourself, with the children in your life, or in your classroom or homeschool. And, to help you tap into your inner artist, Feel also comes in a black and white coloring book version! I hope you EMOTE all over it with your markers, crayons, colored pencils, glitter, glue, and paints!
We cannot sustain our work for justice in the years ahead if we cannot sustain our individual and collective well-being. And so I plan to share one new book per month for the entire school year — and maybe beyond — as a contribution of support for our beloved community. I hope you will join me for a year of nurturing well-being as we build the strength, stamina, and skills to stand up for justice!
If this new series sounds cool and you want to support my efforts, you can:
Review the book (or any of my others) on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and/or Amazon! Reviews are one of the primary ways other people can find my books.
Share the book with someone in your life and on your social media! Tag @justiceleaderscollaborative on Instagram and Facebook if you want.
Contact me at justiceleaderscollaborative@gmail.com to place a bulk order for your school, community, or organization!
Ask your local library or bookstore to carry Feel!
Sign up for our mailing list so that you’ll be the first to know about my next books and resources — there are many more to come!