Big Feelings

Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman follow All Are Welcome with a practical social-emotional picture book built around a relatable setup: a group of children discover a neglected lot and disagree, loudly, about what to do with it. The feelings are real — frustration, overwhelm, disappointment — and the book walks children through naming and managing them before arriving at compromise. Kaufman's illustrations include children of many races, abilities, and faith backgrounds (hijabs, yarmulkes, Sikh patkas, wheelchairs, white canes), which faith-conservative families should simply know about going in, though there is no doctrinal content whatsoever. The one honest weakness is didacticism: the book is genuinely instructional, and the message sometimes leads the story rather than emerging from it. As a classroom and home tool for emotional regulation conversations, though, it earns its place.