Maps of My Emotions, by Bimba Landmann, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9780764362217
Ages 5-8
A boy embarks on a journey where he encounters emotions like hope, fear, anger, joy, and love as he travels through landscapes both exciting and perilous. An oversized hardcover in graphic novel format, Maps of My Emotions lay out emotions and landscapes, with destinations like the Island of Desires and Hills of Future; the Sea of Doubt and Great Lake Horror; the Labyrinth of Anxiety, and Awkwardness Seatown. The format follows a layout where panels lead the boy to his next destination, and a spread with the lay of the land for each spot on the journey. Each map looks like a part of the body – The Land of Hope is laid out like an eye; the District of Anger stretches out over a hand; the Shadowlands of Sadness mirror a pulmonary system – and each area has a dominant color that shades the area. Good for discussions on our emotions, where we feel and process them, and what colors kids see as their “fear color” or “joy color”.
There are some good emotions resources on Education.com to use in conjunction with this book; I chose “third grade” as a filter to cover the age group I think would get the most use of Maps of My Emotions at my library. You should look over the offerings and see what would work best with yours.
An additional purchase for collections where you have learners who learn and communicate more visually, Maps of My Emotions would work with a program where you invite your learners to create their own emotion maps.
Mom Read It 