Today I Feel . . .: An Alphabet of Feelings

'In a recent Pew Research Center survey, the majority of adults said there was too little emphasis on encouraging boys to talk about their feelings when they were sad or upset (as opposed to showing anger instead), and too little emphasis on encouraging girls to stand up for themselves. Experts say everyone would benefit from a bigger emotional vocabulary. This book offers 26 feelings, one for each letter of the alphabet: "invisible," "light," "nervous," "quiet," "relaxed."' -- The New York Times, Twelve Books for Feminist Boys "This thoughtful ABC book takes readers through a whole range of emotions, from 'adored' to, well, 'zzzz'. Madalena Moniz's beautiful and tender watercolour illustrations are a great starting point for gentle conversations about feelings - including challenging ones, such as 'grumpy", 'nervous' and 'yueky', alongside more positive, but complex, examples, like Victorious' and 'patient'. Identifying difficult emotions is, of course, the first step in learning to manage and live with them - and this book could really help teachers support that tricky but important process. For example, what do your pupils reckon it might mean to feel 'quief or 'original? Why do they think "warm' is represented with a hug? And can they remember any situations in which they might have described themselves as feeling lighf, 'mini', or 'invisible'? The last page asks readers how they are feeling today - could this be a useful prompt for some original artwork?" -- Teach Primary

Madalena is an illustrator, based in Lisbon. Since graduating from UWE Bristol in 2009, she has worked as an Art Director in an advertising agency, and then joined a small group of talented friends in a lovely studio space to work as a freelancer. Using a variety of materials, collages, textures and colors, Madalena likes to experiment until finding the right feel for every different project. She aims for originality and depth, taking inspiration from music, books, photos and old stuff. She walks around with many sketchbooks and has shelves full of different kinds mark-making goodies.