I had high expectations for this one, but ultimately it feels a bit patronizing and oversimplified. The one thing I appreciate is that it lets readers know that not everyone will care about why you are sad or be able to help you deal with your depression.

'Sometimes I Feel Sad' by Tom Alexander is a picture book to explain that sometimes everyone feels sad. The story is told with minimal words and illustrations.

The explanations and reasons for sadness vary. As do the remedies. Sometimes it helps to be around people, sometimes it doesn't. It can be difficult to talk about because the people in your life may not understand, but it's important to find someone who will just listen.

The illustrations are stick figures and simple shapes. The message is pretty basic, but a good one.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Jessica Kingsley Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Simple but elegant. A great way to explain to kids that being sad is okay. This book could be helpful to a kid who has depression or a friend trying to understand.

A simple book normalising sadness. Easily explained with poetic illustrations, this book is suitable for all ages.

Thank you to netgalley and the illustrator/author for the e-copy.

It was a fun easy to read book with some important lessons in with the words and illustrations

This could be a great book to help kids open up about their feelings and show them that its normal to feel sad sometimes and to share those feelings with someone you trust. I just wish the pictures could have been a little more vibrant or colorful.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have a hard time with this one. The illustrations aren't appealing to the child they are intended for. That said, I think it's important for children that struggle with sadness to know that they aren't alone and to validate their feelings. This book provides an entry to that and supports discussion.

I feel this book will benefit many families and open the door to needed conversations. Text was basic and that was perfect for my children under 7 years of age. This book delivers a much needed message. Thank you Net Valley for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I’ve started requested a lot of books through Netgalley that I read to my Grandchildren who are four and six. I chose this particular book because of the title and thought my grandson would relate it. I read it to him and was delighted at the end when he said ‘so I’m not the only person who feels sad sometimes.’ A short book with simple drawings that highlights that it’s ok to feel sad, for a whole variety of reasons. We’ve reread the book on a number of occasions and my grandson can now relate to some of the issues raised in the book.

The text is accurate and to the point but would not be very engaging for young students. My ARC did not have full illustrations. Great illustrations may assist with student understanding and engagement. Thank you Jessica Kingsley Publishing for ARC through Net Galley.

I loved this book for the direct and simple way it tackled a potentially tricky subject matter. Every child needs to be aware that feeling is sad is normal, common and that when they feel that way they are not alone. This book allows children to see a character who might feel like them and one they can relate to especially in showing that their sadness can vary and is not always easily fixed.

What I loved about the simplicity of the illustrations here is that they allowed for emotion to be shown in expressions without the need for a complicated backdrop. The type of illustration here could be particularly useful for working with children in that it is a style they could easily replicate. The real positive to having illustrations like these is that you could have children replicate them to draw their own emotions, or how they want things to be. Because the text is simple it would be useful for children to edit or utilise for their own writing prompts from age 5 and higher up in school the images could be replicated digitally by children who could create their own comics or animations based on this.

This book should be in every classroom and be part of every teacher's go to lessons/schemes of work when covering mental health issues, depression, or any kind of sadness in a child's life.

"Sometimes I feel sad.
Sometimes it's because I've lost something.
Or because I'm hurt.
Other times I don't know why I feel sad.
I just do."


This simple, yet powerful story chronicles a sweet little boy who wants to come to terms with the deep sadness that is hidden inside of him. He cites different scenarios where this sadness occurs such as when he loses something or when he gets hurt, but often he doesn't know why he feels that way.

He tries different antidotes to make the sadness go away. He goes and hangs out with his friends, he does something fun to chase his blues away, he cloisters himself alone with a book, but those things don't make the sadness disappear. He is always apprehensive to share his sad feelings with his friends, parents or teacher in case it's infectious and they become sad too. He is frighenend they will think ill of him if he reveals his real feelings and that worries him a lot.

Is there any way he can escape this cloud of doom that hangs over him? Is there anyone to help him overcome his unhappiness? One thread of advice that weaves throughout the book is to never, ever give up on trying to find a reason and intimately a cure. Happily the little guy discovers if you keep on seeking help that there are people who truly care about how you are feeling and are willing to listen and share their wisdom as to how you can be an overcomer.

This heartfelt book assures kids 5+ that others struggle with expressing their feelings of sadness too and you are not alone.

The illustrations are simple and very powerful enriching the story. "Sometimes I Feel Sad" is a wonderful catalyst to open up a conversation about feelings and to discuss how they can be managed successfully. I highly recommend this book.

We all feel sad sometimes and sometimes that can be overwhelming, but that’s okay!

Sometimes I Feel Sad is aimed at children from ages 5+ and provides a very useful first insight into expressing emotions that are more difficult to explain. Through the simple illustrations, we see how difficult sadness can be to deal with and how people can sometimes react differently to us opening up about this.

I think that this book is a valuable resource to have – children suffer with mental health issues too, and many children struggle to express their emotions. I work in a school and have read this to a child who really enjoyed the story and took away the message that they could talk to their teachers if they feel sad and that we will listen and be there for them.

Overall, I really enjoyed the simplicity of this title and found that the message is relevant whether you’re 5, 25 or 50. It’s the perfect book for people wanting to understand more about depression and sadness, and for people experiencing it.

This is a very important children's book, owing to its message that everyone can feel sad at any point, for any number of reasons. It emphasises that sadness is a normal human emotion and it is okay to feel sad. It urges children to tell someone when they are feeling sad, in order to help make things better. The downside is that the text is very brief and a lot more could have been done with this message. However, a great message nonetheless.

A simple children's book with an important message: sometimes people feel sad and that's completely ok. Definitely a good way to start a conversation with younger children.

This book was a really lovely read, I think it's a great reminder to adults that everyone feels sad in different ways and for different reasons and there are so many different ways to try and feel better.

I think it's a great book for children with it's simple stick figure drawings and potent message that is important for everyone to talk about. I imagine it would be good for people to identify that they feel sad sometimes without knowing why. It's important that kids know they can reach out and talk, that even if someone doesn't understand to keep trying. I really loved the overall message and will be buying this book for my nephew on his birthday.

Thank you for allowing me to read this advanced ebook through NetGallery