I Have Feelings

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

We all have feelings and most of us express them in ways that others will understand. Facial expressions are part of the body language for demonstrating our feelings. On the cover there is a boy who looks happy. In another picture he is supposed to look frightened, but he really just looks a bit startled. Happy and sad are usually easy to identify: a smile or a frown will convey that emotion accurately. The young girl getting a shot is indeed acting braver—braver than me in a similar situation. The emotion of silly is a bit overshadowed by the clown costume, and it is not a clear way to demonstrate the girl's feelings. Unlike many readers of this type, the vocabulary words are listed on the opening page, and the closing page includes several notes to adults about the content and focus of the book and a suggested activity, which is in addition to the related activities presented on prior pages. Simple declarative sentences on crisp white pages accompanied by photographs of children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds make this an attractive book. It is a level "B" book in the "My World" series. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot