Anger is a helpful emotion for children because it helps them recognize that they don’t like something that is happening.
Utilized in a positive way, children learn to be assertive and communicate their wishes and needs.
Without proper guidance however, children may struggle to develop an understanding of the emotional process they are experiencing and as a result, may act out in aggressive or unhealthy ways.
They may even develop habitual patterns of throwing tantrums because they are unable to recognize the signals their body is sending them to let them know they are starting to get upset.
What Is Emotional Intelligence and What are its Benefits?
On a basic level, emotional intelligence in children is about being aware of emotions and knowing how to work through them without hurting yourself or anyone else.
When a child becomes emotionally intelligent, they foster the capabilities to recognize their emotions, speak openly about them, and figure out how to get their needs met.
Emotional awareness enables children to understand and control their emotions rather than letting their emotions control their behaviors.
One emotion that can be a challenge for both children and adults is anger. Teaching children about anger and how to manage their frustrations is a valuable life long skill that can help with interpersonal relationships as well as individual emotional wellbeing.
Books can come in super handy to teach some essential lessons about emotional intelligence and anger in particular. Keep reading to find some great books to help children learn about anger.
As a children’s therapist this topic is very important to me, so I wrote the picture book above because I saw an unmet need.
Many children’s books about emotions skip ahead to introducing regulation strategies without acknowledging the critical importance of self-awareness. It becomes more and more difficult to control our thoughts and actions when our body’s emotional response escalates to peak levels.
When kids are in the middle of big emotional reactions, calming strategies usually are not very effective.
I wrote this lighthearted and engaging story about feelings, so children could learn about the benefits of self-awareness, and how noticing the clues our bodies send helps us regulate our emotions and respond to our needs.
Why is Teaching Children about Managing Anger Important?
Understanding the Role of Anger in Child Development
Anger is a natural emotion that everyone must learn to handle. We all get angry, but dealing with this big emotion is crucial to child development. When children learn how to properly manage their anger, it enhances their emotional literacy, enabling them to better express their feelings.
This is a critical skill for people to be able to handle difficult situations and to work through interpersonal challenges.
The Importance of Emotional Literacy in Children
Emotional literacy is the process where children learn to understand and express their feelings, including the intense emotion of anger.
Teaching children about managing anger is critical because it cultivates their emotional intelligence, providing them with the words to express their internal thoughts and feelings.
20 Children’s Books About Anger
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Riley can get caught up in her anger, hurt, and frustration and destroy everything in her way. But she was quick to learn the benefits of managing her anger. Riley learns how to take a moment to collect herself and address her emotional needs with composure. The story of Riley can be relatable for children, and offers a number of simple methods to manage big emotions.
Quilliam is a porcupine with a very bad temper. Whenever he gets angry, he ends up hurting his friends with one of his shooting quills. So he learns how to calm himself down, be a kind friend, and practice coping skills to improve his ability to manage his feelings and behaviors. This book is about managing anger for the betterment of yourself and the people around you.
Eye-catching graphics paired with everyday scenarios in this book teach children about inventive and unexpected anger management methods. Little Max takes the readers on a journey of how he learned to control his anger with the help of his parents and some helpful calming techniques.
Nick became furious when he didn’t get what he wanted. His emotions quickly grew out of control. Fortunately, with the help of a few special friends, Nick learned how to manage his anger and practices exercises to regain control and become calm and composed once again. This story teaches children some regulation strategies to use as tools to help to manage their anger.
Little Anger E. Motion goes through his journey to understand the reasons he is feeling so angry. He thinks about what anger is trying to convey to him, and how he can identify where he feels anger. Readers learn that anger has a purpose and helps us to recognize that we want something to change. It’s a helpful book that will teach your child about self-regulating techniques and how to develop their own coping skills.
Luke visits the dinosaur museum with his grandparents and finds himself all tangled in anger. This book is centered on the lesson that anger is a normal emotion to have and the key is learning how to express it appropriately. When parents and adults in the family raise emotional awareness, children learn to communicate their feelings positively.
A journey through Jam’s day that starts off with an unexpected challenge and gets worse and worse by the hour. His big emotions including anger, sadness, and frustration keep building up until he can no longer contain them. This book helps children to understand that no matter how strong emotions can be, they don’t last forever. By processing their emotions and communicating openly, children can learn to work through their difficult feelings.
Allie is furious. She can’t seem to tame her anger. However, no matter how big her emotions get, underneath, Allie is always present. All it takes are some coping techniques and the support of her brother to get back to herself. This book teaches children how to center themselves when they are overwhelmed by challenging emotions.
Ravi transforms into a ferocious tiger when he can’t do something he wants to do. While tigers are powerful and intimidating beasts, no one wants to play with a selfish, wild animal. Ravi soon discovers the importance of channeling his emotions without negatively impacting his family or friends. This story is a clever take on temper tantrums and managing big emotions.
Sam loses his calm when he is eliminated from a game of musical chairs with friends. Again and again, Sam has a hard time accepting his fate when things are not going his way. He Anger grows so big that he cries out that he hates everything. Luckily, Sam’s aunt is able to teach his some valuable lessons on how to manage his anger and have more positive moments in his life.
Melissa gets furious after her brother brakes her favorite toy. She gets angry at her mother too because Melissa doesn’t want to eat her veggies. When she goes to bed, she dreams of an underwater adventure where she meets sea creatures that teach her several regulation strategies and how to make things right.
Little monkey was not having a good day. He couldn’t control his frustration and anger and had a huge blowup. He chooses to practice calming techniques like singing a quiet song, taking deep breaths, and cuddling with his blanket to regain his composure. This book gives children a great lesson that they can bounce back from a meltdown.
Daniel Tiger is not feeling his best. He feels mad, he stomps, and he roars. Perplexed by his emotions, he tries to figure out what he can do and uncovers ways that made him feel better with the help of his friends. This story shows that everybody gets mad at times. We can get help from trusted loved ones and develop helpful strategies to manage our challenging emotions.
This book starts by introducing a simple regulation skill before diving into some common examples of when children feel angry. The book shows how small spots of frustration can turn into a big red spot of anger. Whenever kids get upset, they have the option to turn the big red angry spot into a calm and peaceful spot by using their regulation skills.
Everyone gets mad, even dinosaurs. A funny and helpful story about how young dinosaurs learn to manage their emotions, especially when they get angry. Anger can be difficult to talk about for children, especially when they are very young. This story delivers the message that the path to emotional self-control can have its ups and downs, but it is important children know they are always loved. A great book for all dinosaur lovers to self-reflect and learn about managing anger along the way.
In this children’s book about anger, kids learn that feeling anger is normal and everybody can experience big emotions at times. The problem arises when big emotions like anger can lead to actions that hurt themselves or others. This book is reassuring and supportive for children, and introduces strategies for dealing with anger. In both English and Spanish, this book teaches children to be patient, think positively, and calm down to work through anger.
Sweet little Cookie is in a bad mood. He gets mad at everything and everyone, even the reader of the book. As the story goes on, Cookie vents more and more and keeps the reader’s attention until the very end. Cookie demonstrates how expressing one’s emotions can be a heathy an effective way to regulate emotions.
Little Sammy has self-control issues, especially when it comes to anger. His mom enrolls him in a martial arts class, where he learns how to channel his energy. This book includes the lesson that emotions are valuable and need to be acknowledged. It all depends on our mindsets and the outlets we choose to use express ourselves.
Young children have tantrums from time to time. In this book, our main character loses control of his emotions when he can’t get a cookie. He screams and shouts Red as his anger grows out of control. His mom then comes in to help and teaches him how to calm down by counting and taking deep breaths.
Benny loses his cool after facing on challenge after another. With help from his parents, he learns strategies to control his anger and his emotional responses. A unique feature about this book is that it provides notes on cognitive behavioral therapy for parents to help their children when faced with big emotions.
Final Thoughts on Children's Books About Anger
Early childhood is the time when children start to develop greater awareness of their emotions. But most kids are unaware of the safe and healthy ways to express their anger or other strong emotions. Emotional regulation is not a skill that comes naturally, but is something that needs to be taught. A significant step in learning how to manage our emotions comes from being able to talk about them. Books can provide a framework children can use to understand their emotions and grow their emotional intelligence and regulation skills. As you can see from the list, there are plenty of children’s books about anger to choose from. We hope you found this list helpful!
