I’m posting about the two books (so far) in the Little Aiden series today, which is turning into a bigger challenge than I expected. The two books are pretty similar in terms of style, quality, etc. So, yeah, the second post might sound a lot like the first—occasionally I’m just going to copy and paste. Sorry about that. But they should be different enough to justify your time as well as mine.
Little Aiden – A Feelings Book for Toddlers
by Albert and Anna Choi, Bettina Braskó (Illustrator)
DETAILS: Series: Little Aiden Publisher: Mytogo Publishing Publication Date: December 17, 2022 Format: eBook Length: 41 pg. Read Date: June 10, 2023
What’s Little Aiden – A Feelings Book for Toddlers About?
There’s one simple point to this book:
It is okay to have feelings.
It’s the first sentence and that sentiment is repeated fourteen times over the book as we follow Aiden through a bunch of scenarios where he’s feeling things that kids can identify with. Scared, tired, happy, playful, silly, helpless, and more.
Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute
Little Aiden’s expressions are clear—it’s a piece of cake to tell what he’s feeling, even for a little one just trying to put words to facial expressions.
But I think Braskó’s real strength is in the rest of the illustrations—what’s Aiden’s body doing with the feeling? What’s going on around him? Is there a mess? Does he have toys? How’s he interacting with his environment? Those really help fill out the ideas of the book.
These are going to be very fun for a toddler—and whoever is reading with the toddler—to stop and talk about. “He’s sure a messy eater, isn’t he? What’s that on the floor there next to his sippy cup? What’s that on his face?”
The illustration that goes with embarrassed is probably my favorite (and that probably says something about my maturity level).
Be sure to check out some of the samples on Braskó’s website.
How is it to Read Aloud?
I don’t mean this in a bad way—but this isn’t going to do much for the adult reader. It’s a simple and repetitive text. You don’t get to do any fun rhymes, tongue twisters, silly voices, or goofy noises (well, maybe a couple). And that’s okay, because it’s not that kind of book.
It’s the kind of book that’s intentionally repetitive—this is how you can help the child learn. It’s written simply for the same reason. Short and clear sentences that make it easy to grasp the point.
It’s also the kind of book that’s easy to stop reading to discuss—the feeling in question, the art, or whatever. And that’s where the engagement for the adult reader is going to come in.
And, hey, some of the pages serve as a good reminder to the adult that it’s okay for the toddler to be frustrated and angry—because it’s really easy for parents/caretakers to forget that sometimes. It’s good for us to vocalize that.
So, what did I think about Little Aiden – A Feelings Book for Toddlers?
Feelings can be scary—sometimes a toddler isn’t sure why they’re having the emotional reaction they are, sometimes a toddler can see the adults around them reacting to the toddler’s emotions in a way that can be frightening or off-putting, sometimes a toddler doesn’t like the way an emotion makes them feel. It doesn’t do much good to assure the toddler that it doesn’t get much better sometimes as an adult.
But what you can assure them of is that it’s okay to feel things. The Chois have given toddlers a handy and helpful book to tell them this. As they read and re-read it with someone they trust they can examine these feelings and get the reminder—or get the lesson—that it’s okay to feel emotions.
How to react to those emotions is a talk for a different time—but for now, it’s about being okay with having and feeling them.
I heartily recommend this book.
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