Today I Feel Silly

For Christmas, my sisters - both in their twenties - decided I needed some fun/silly presents. Included were a Little Miss Sunshine lemon lip balm, a Little Miss Giggles spiral notebook and a copy of Today I Feel Silly & Other MOODS That Make My Day, written by Jamie Lee Curtis (yes, THAT Jamie Lee Curtis - the actress) and illustrated by Laura Cornell.

Today I Feel Silly is all about the different kinds of emotions we experience. It's a good way to introduce the topic to little kids (the book is recommended for children ages 3 to 8):

Today I feel silly.
Mom says it's the heat.
I put rouge on the cat
and gloves on my feet.
I ate noodles for breakfast
and pancakes at night.
I dressed like a star
and was quite a sight.

Silly, grumpy, angry, joyful and confused. Subdued and excited. Cranky. Lonely. Happy. Disheartened. Sad. These are normal emotions we all experience:

I'd rather feel silly, excited or glad,
than cranky or grumpy, discouraged or sad.
But moods are just something that happen each day.
Whatever I'm feeling inside is okay!

The book closes with the question: “How do YOU feel today?” It even comes with a "mood wheel" so the reader can match the moods between the eyes and the mouth of the little girl in the story. If you have a small child, this is one way to talk about the emotions they are learning to cope with and learning to recognize in others. Also, this book could be used as an opening to discuss when different behavior is appropriate. For example, it's not generally okay to be silly at church, but it's acceptable at play time; you can be grumpy, but that doesn't mean you can be rude to others. Books, in addition to being good entertainment, can also be valuable tools...