Children’s books that foster emotional intelligence and
non-toxic masculinity

I started reading The Color Monster, In My Heart, and My Many Colored Days with Rufus when he was very little. As he became more verbal, I would pause after each page or feeling and tell him of a time or a situation that made me feel that way and then ask him if he could think of a time. I really think that reading these books this way made space for us to talk about feelings, and name what he was thinking. Now he still loves those three books, but the Star Wars Search Your Feelings book brought the topic up in a category that he is super interested in. The Boy with Big Big Feelings is incredible and I love how it highlights that people with big feelings will also feel nostalgia and happiness in big overwhelming ways as well.

A couple of these books (Pink is for Boys, Tough Guys, and Julian is a Mermaid) are more about acceptance and pushing back against the concept of “boy” and “girl” things.

I also included a few books about managing and finding strategies to help with anger and anxiety, like A Little Spot of Anxiety, Train Your Angry Dragon, and the Rabbit Listened, but I will be updating this list with a few more favorites on that topic asap.

Including books that push back against toxic masculinity and help children learn to accept and find strategies to help with emotions.