The Rabbit Listened

This month's book pick is The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld. This book happens to be one of my favorite picture books about emotions. Learning about emotions can be tough, especially when you're young, because life can be unpredictable. 

In our house, we talk about emotions quite often. As a parent, I do my best to be honest when I'm feeling something because I think it helps Eleanor understand that we all feel things, which is completely normal and okay. It's how we react that can be tricky. So, I tell her when I'm proud of her, when I'm frustrated with her, and when I'm happy because of her. I also tell her often, "There's nothing you could ever do to make your mommy stop loving you." 

Now, does this mean that we have our emotions all figured out over here? Absolutely NOT. In fact, just this morning Eleanor told me that I hurt her feelings. When asked how I hurt her feelings, she said, "because you were talking".  😐 So, we still have plenty to learn. Which, in my opinion, is a great reason to turn to our books!

"But then, out of nowhere….things came crashing down". This book goes through so many emotions humans might feel when something happens, or "comes crashing down". Anger, denial, and frustration, just to name a few. Cori also does a fantastic job of portraying that what some people might be giving you isn't what you need at that moment, and that's okay. Listening is something we can all offer, even if it isn't what we think we would've needed in the situation. 

I'm a pretty firm believer that it's never too early to start talking about emotions, just like it's never too early to begin reading to your child. Things can remain light, just like our books are at that age, but to talk about them and be allowed to feel them-that is something that will help your child tremendously.