There’s a common worldview that difficult feelings - like sadness - are meant to be repressed and hidden from the world. This leads to people suffering privately or bottling up emotions until they explode.

Luckily, highly-engaging books like Ira Crumbs Feels the Feelings teach children (especially boys!) that it’s ok to feel sad sometimes.

Ira and Malcolm are besties who have difficulty deciding whether to play hide-and-seek or tag. When others hear the word “tag,” they come running and swoop Malcolm off his feet, leaving Ira all alone.

Now Ira’s body is doing strange things, telling Ira that he is S to the A to the D: SAD.

People try to cheer him up but he just wants to feel his feelings!

Apparently, Malcolm was missing his bestie and comes back to find Ira feeling pretty sad. When he inquires about his friend’s sadness (as good friends ought to do), he doesn’t try to change Ira’s feelings but chooses to empathize with him instead.

All-in-all, Ira Crumbs Feels the Feelings has ME feeling all the feelings…especially love! 

Great read aloud for grades K-2.

Yours in Literacy,

Sheila :) 

I received this book from the publisher, Owl Kids, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.