The Totally Not Boring Book Of Feelings by Jolie Taylor & Brandon Dorman

What a delightful way to get kids in touch with their feelings! And this, mind you, is said by someone who has definitely given books about feelings, especially those targeted at kids, the hairy side eye, usually for being too sappy and twee.

This collection of roughly 40 poems easily avoids that pitfall, while being exactly as “not boring” as it says on the tin. The poems cover a wide spectrum of the emotions that kids are likely to experience on a day-to-day basis, from adventurous to trusting and, arguably, unique. I mean, is “unique” really a feeling? It’s more of a quality, no? Anyway, I’ll save my quibbling for when it really matters and gush first over how warm and lovely the messaging is behind this book. The kids, and sometimes imaginary creatures and anthropomorphic animals, who are the protagonists of these poems are all grappling with big feelings and learning how best to deal with them. The overall kindness and courage of the characters — with several noteworthy but deserving exceptions, such as the irritating Kessie or the rightfully terrified Zach — set a wonderful example for all readers, and especially for those young ones who might not yet know how to grapple with what they’re feeling in the face of seemingly overwhelming circumstances. The tone throughout is perfect for getting through to kids, very much bringing to mind Shel Silverstein’s use of humor and occasional outrageousness to drive the point home.

Brandon Dorman’s artwork is outstanding through and through here. I am not familiar with his work on Goosebumps, as I grew up on a diet of Christopher Pikes and felt I’d definitely aged out of the target market by the time that series came around (plus also R. L. Stine’s Fear Street books seemed so simple compared to the sophisticated mind games Mr Pike used in his extraordinary, haunting books, at least to my adolescent brain.) But I’m genuinely surprised that Mr Dorman hasn’t already won a billion awards for his excellent illustrations! He draws diverse kids who display both nuanced emotions and wonderful energy in many different and often amusing situations. His use of layouts here was extraordinary: the choice to combine the Scared and Confused poems in one terrific splash page made me laugh out loud! My only and very tiny critique is that I thought the Ben-Day dots on poor overwhelmed Minky’s fur were a little too, um, overwhelming for the panels. That aside, the black and white illustrations are pitch perfect throughout this beautifully illustrated book.

The only thing that I wish was better about this volume is the poetry itself. The plots are cute, the messages are great, but my God, the lack of rhythm and difficulty of scansion were deeply annoying. Writing poetry is hard, good poetry exponentially so. Jolie Taylor got all the rhymes right, but the meter just isn’t there, and that drove me nuts. I cannot imagine trying to say these poems out loud to my kids, not without a ton of prep work to make up for the lack of natural rhythm. Honestly, it feels like these were written as song lyrics, with an outside beat that only the author is privy to providing the structure that would truly turn each piece into a poem that (ironically) sings instead of just rhyming doggerel sitting limply on the pages. I loved so much the enthusiasm and creativity that went into each short piece and its accompanying pictures: I just wish that the level of wordsmithing used here was on par with the rest of it.

Appalling lack of rhythm aside, this is a really great book that would definitely be of use to kids. It’s fun and lively and honest and real (tho maybe the Generosity poem was a little too twee: I mean, c’mon, only three kids got any eggs?) with great illustrations and heaps of heart, wisdom and empathy.

The Totally Not Boring Book Of Feelings by Jolie Taylor & Brandon Dorman was published September 3 2024 by Shadow Mountain and is available from all good booksellers, including