In My Heart: A Book of Feelings

I first spotted In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek around Valentine’s Day last year. I picked it up, assuming it was a book associated with the holiday. Instead, I found a picture book so full of heart and emotion that it was overflowing.

What I really connect with in this book is the fact that each emotion is related not only with metaphor but with sensory words that describe what an emotion can actually feel like. For example,

Some days my heart feels as heavy as an elephant. There’s a dark cloud over my head, and tears fall like rain. This is when my heart is sad.

The book itself is hard to resist—the nestled, colorful hearts caught my eye right away…and each page doesn’t disappoint. Christine Roussey’s illustrations are whimsical, expressive, and vibrant—perfect for a book explaining what may be a confusing emotion for a child.

In My Heart is a great starting point for discussion when things aren’t going our way or when kids at school aren’t kind or when we are just having a hard time with defining what may be causing our meltdown, our uncharacteristic quietness, our lack of appetite.

Admittedly, the other thing that drew me to this book is the title itself: In My Heart reminds me of one of my favorite Laurie Berkner songs, “There’s a Little Wheel Turning in My Heart”. Mini Me and I would often sing this song in the car, and along with Berkner’s fabulous lyrics, I would add her first name in as well. As in “there’s a little [Mini Me’s name] in my heart”. I can’t tell you how full my heart feels whenever I sing that version because Mini Me is in my heart forever, just like Little Lion. But Mini Me was the first one, and she truly taught me a different side of love.

So when I say that there’s a little one of her in my heart? It makes me happy because my girls are my whole heart.

Here are a few of my favorite pages from the book:

Tell Dr. Bookworm!

Is there a book you’ve seen that reminds you of a beloved song? Is there a picture book you’ve read that you connected with right away? Let me know in the comments!