The Color Monster

Why It's On Our Shelf

Assigning colors to emotions is clever because it makes abstract feelings concrete. The monster starts all mixed up, with his emotions tangled together, which is exactly how kids feel sometimes. Sorting the emotions into separate jars gives children a framework for understanding what they're experiencing. The illustrations are colorful and expressive without being overwhelming. What makes this work is that it doesn't tell kids what to do with their emotions - it just helps them identify and organize them, which is the first step toward managing them. The pop-up version is great, but the regular book works just as well for the core concept.