I’m not suggesting this is a book for adults, I’m simply pondering that the book tackles universal themes that are as relevant for grown-ups as they are for kids. These are all things I know from my ongoing studies in positive psychology are critical to our wellbeing. The beginnings of a lump of emotion form in my throat as the words evoke a sense of togetherness, connection and support. When I read aloud the line ‘if you’re scared, tell me why and we’ll walk through the forest together’, it never fails to prompt the prickle of tears at the back of eyes.

You laugh, you jump, you dance! You want to share that feeling with everyone’, or the portrayal of calm as ‘quiet like the trees and soft like their leaves’. Who can resist the description of happiness as: The descriptions of emotions are uplifting. Reading it with my daughter, I often find myself reflecting on the issues it raises for us as adults as well. So I’d certainly recommend it to use with young children – it’s sweet, it’s glorious to look at and it works. We’ve even recently introduced a new colour code of our own – grey, for tired. When I ask her ‘what colour are you feeling?’, I find it heart-warming when she replies ‘yellow and pink’ (for happiness and love respectively). We often use the phrase ‘mixed up colours’ at home when our toddler is out of sorts (for which read: grumpy, stroppy, shouty, tearful …). It does this in a beguiling and effective way. The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas is a beautifully illustrated book by designed to help children explore colours and emotions. Beautifully illustrated using cardboard cutouts and mixed media, this is a great starting point to open up a conversation about emotions and exploring how a child feels when they experience each one mentioned.Since I’m posting this on Christmas Eve, Day 8’s book has a lighter feel. The author has used classic storybook role-reversal here which children will enjoy: the small girl takes the lead and imparts her wisdom on the (much larger) monster. At the end of the story, the colour monster has calmed down and jarred all his emotions, which has made room for a new (pink) one to blossom…love! She describes each feeling for him, and offers to help him through the challenging ones.

She assigns a colour to each emotion: yellow for happiness, blue for sadness, anger is red, black is fear and calm is green.

The girl begins a mission to help her friend recognise and separate his feelings (and put each one in a jar so they can look properly at them).

He’s feeling all mixed up and very confused, and the girl explains that it is because his feelings (and colours) are ‘all stirred together’. Author: Anna Llenas Illustrator: Anna Llenas Publisher: Templar PublishingĪ small girl narrates the story, and begins by introducing her friend, the colour monster.

The colour monster anna llenas