Description

For quite some time, I’ve had a desire to write a children’s book about emotions. But I didn’t just want the book to talk about emotions; I wanted it to acknowledge and respect emotions. I wanted to write a book that I would feel good about reading to my own children, one that conveys a healthy view of emotions. And while this is certainly a children’s book, I’ve also written it with their parents and other adults in their lives in mind. In fact, because of how it models respectful communication and empathic limit-setting, Sometimes I Cry / Sometimes I Laugh could even be viewed as a parent handbook of sorts.

Starting from either side, the book tells two stories that begin separately and meet in the middle. The flip format is symbolic, as the book explores opposite ends of the emotional spectrum and takes a holistic approach to examining these contrasting feelings and the ways we express them.

The book talks openly about both crying and laughing, without judging one to be better or more correct than the other. The central message is that all emotions, both positive and negative, are valid, and that children should always be given space to express their feelings and be met with empathy and understanding when they do. It’s a message about which I am incredibly passionate, and I believe this is the single most important shift that we as parents can make in our thinking; if we can truly internalize the idea that all emotions are valid and deserve to be expressed, we will be much better equipped to support our children in developing healthy emotional balance and emotional intelligence.