How are you feeling today? by Molly Potter

Ill. by Sarah Jennings. Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781472906090
(Ages: 4-10) Everything we do and every thought we have comes with a feeling. Sometimes those feelings feel good and sometimes they feel nasty. How are you feeling today attempts to assist with discussion and deeper thought about these feelings and emotions that we all have as human beings.
Brightly coloured pages, bold and uncomplicated text styles, simple but effective illustrations and a very helpful special comments pussy cat make How are you feeling today a well presented picture book. It also has a feelings tracker at the back of the book which is a great self-reflective research idea for any child.
The reader is immediately prompted to choose the emotion they are feeling. You then proceed in a choose your own adventure style to the page designated by you as your emotion. If the reader chose excited then they would turn to page 20. On page 20 they would complete tasks like, say 'yippee' and 'yeh' in your squeakiest voice, tell somebody exactly why you are so excited and draw a picture of what you think excitement looks like.
How are you feeling today is a book that would be a welcome addition to a primary school library attracting young borrowers. It is also a book that would sit very comfortably on a shelf of a room where students with emotional development needs regularly visit. Students that are on the ASD spectrum would benefit from having this book referred to in their individual learning plan so they can identify why they feel an emotion.
This all said, I did find this book awkward and annoying to read as a picture book. It does not flow and is not a sit down and read with your children type book but more a book to refer to with a child who is struggling with emotional control.
Steve Whitehead