TIGER DAYS

Depending on the day, one may feel fierce like a tiger or shy like a snail.

Throughout this book, a slew of feelings are embodied by representative animals. Rabbit days are wakeful, monkey days are playful, and otter days are full of cuddles. Each feeling and its associated animal are presented on a two-page spread, and every fourth spread makes a statement validating the emotional experience. The text follows a consistent abcc rhyming pattern and incorporates uncommon words helpful for building young readers’ emotional vocabulary, such as “stubborn” and “rage.” Sporadically, key phrases and words are emphasized through the use of all caps, though overall the presentation is crisp. An emotive animal appears atop a distinctively color-saturated and otherwise empty background in each spread, accompanied by bold, white lines of text. The book balances the inclusion of feelings typically deemed positive and negative, and it presents each nonjudgmentally. The resulting message is that no feeling needs to be fixed or corrected; all emotions are normal and bring with them physical sensations and behavioral tendencies. There are ample opportunities for adult caregivers to creatively extend this lesson through discussion or imaginative play.

A highly useful resource for helping little ones build self-awareness and emotional vocabulary.