I think this is such a cute book about learning to control your emotions. The artwork is adorable and unique and Finn absolutely loved it and made me read it four times for him.

'Emotional Explorers' by Maria Merce Conangla and Jaume Soler is a workbook with activities to help children to learn to manage emotions.

By using analogies about the planet and animals, young readers are taught to see their emotional landscapes like the many varied landscapes on Earth. The dragons on a map are really just unexplored areas that we can learn to explore. Finding ways to create protected spaces helps young people learn to keep themselves from being damaged by harmful emotions.

Along with the 5 chapters are colorful drawings, facts about nature and plenty of ways to explore using these analogies to work on their inner selves.

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

Emotional Explorers aims to help children between the ages of seven to “work in a responsible and decisive way to become more attuned to their emotional lives, leave a better world for those following them, and help those around them to grow.” Children will need help and guidance navigating the activities in the book which will create a great line of communication between child and adult.

Emotional Explorers is a much needed book that helps kids build deeper connections within themselves as well as the world around them. Following the activities in this book will help kids feel more anchored to their world and kids will walk away with a much fuller and richer understanding of themselves. I highly recommend it!

Emotional Explorers by Maria Mercé Conangla & Jaume Soler works to help children learn to become attuned to their emotions, and to work with them in beneficial ways. They introduce the ideas of being an 'emotional explorer’ and of 'emotional ecology’. There are five chapters, each opening with three questions that will be looked at in-depth in the chapter. Within the chapters are numerous exercises. I loved that this book looked at the inner workings of the mind like it is our inner planet, or home. This is a concept we have taught our cubs in the form of As Above, So Below. Macro and microcosms that reflect one another. It's very clear this book was created to ideally be used in a classroom, but it would also be great for families to work through together.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Schiffer Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Like other reviewers, I had mixed feelings about this book. I should note I have a child in the age group this book focuses on (8-12 year olds).

If I review it as if it's a children's book - I found it a bit stiff, and not as light and fun as I'd expect from the topic and the age group. I can't imagine giving this to my son for him to read solo, even though he's the kind of kid that loves this sort of conversation.

if I review it as a companion guide to a class, or homeschooling group - it's perfect. I would wholeheartedly recommend the book for use in groups with adult mentors, as the kid(s) work through it.

I could see myself buying this book for my son, and making it a weekly project to move through a chapter together.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an early-access read for review purposes.

This book is an experience. It is filled with metaphors between the natural world and natural emotions. The combination of these two things is organic, inspiring, and wholesome. It includes many opportunities for self reflection, and could be thought of as a Self Help book for children. I would probably shelve it in the "Growing Up" section near our picture books.

The art is wonderful. It's comforting yet contemporary. Even if kids do not read every word of the book, they will gain a sense of the meaning from the pictures.

My favourite question from this book is "What can you do so that love, tenderness and compassion do not disapear from this world?"

I struggle writing a review for this to meet the minimum -- it was a disappointing read and not what I expected from the summary.

This series helps elementary aged children explore the emotional world around them. Not only does it share about experiences and ideas but it also includes activities for the readers to really engage with these topics. Learning coping skills is so important for children as they navigate through the world around them. As a parent to children this age, I enjoyed this series and love the idea of not only bettering ourselves but being a positive and caring member of our larger community around us.

I was very excited to see what this book would be like; exploring emotions is something that's incredibly important for everyone, and I was hoping for something that would be useful for both children and adults. To be honest, I was very disappointed by this book; it just wasn't engaging and gripping and I doubt that that would be much different for children. I just didn't find anything to keep me reading on, and, having worked with children, I can't imagine them being much more engaged.

Emotional Explorers is exactly the book I would have loved when I was a child. I cannot wait for my daughter to be old enough to read this and participate in the activities. Even at two years old I encourage my daughter to have empathy for our planet and try to be a mini eco warrior!

A selection from Iphelia.com’s Editor’s Bookshelf review: Tucking into Emotional Explorers, I expected to experience it through the eyes of a child, either that blond-haired, green-eyed little girl who grew up to be “the editor,” or the eyes of my godsisters, who are 7 and 13.

That said, Emotional Explorers, which is categorized as a children’s self-help book, is strikingly complex, and I find myself engaging it as an educator and adult who’s increasingly captivated by the intricacies of the living world.

The book’s introduction acknowledges that throughout its 64 pages, “environmental and emotional education are discussed as parallel ideas. One concept supports the other, enriches it, and enables us to develop and understand it better.” This was my first introduction to the idea of emotional ecology, and while the book is chock full of adorable artwork, it takes a decidedly scientific approach to laying things out while inviting the child (or reader of any age!) to assume the empowering role of expert on their own experience.

Emotional Explorers isn’t a storybook. It’s a guide. Reading it isn’t an activity in itself—it’s a starting place that will have caregivers and kiddos discussing everything from the psychology of different landscapes to the miracles of the water cycle and the temperaments of our animal friends. In doing so, all parties, regardless of their age or affinities, are called to self-awareness, introspection, and empathy.

This book will be best loved by families who are committed to setting time aside to learn and create together and educators who are at liberty to implement novel content in their teaching spaces. I envision Emotional Explorers and Iphelia—both of which teach the language of feeling in unique and inspired ways—living side by side on many bookshelves in the years to come.

This book would be great for school teachers and homeschooling. I could see myself doing some of it with my Granddaughter on our sleepovers and visits. I don't think a child could understand it on their own unless they were really older. It is grouped into different catagories like the planet, landscapes, life and extinction. Each one has activities, objectives, the story, questions on the reflection of the story, and conclusions for further work. The illustrations are cute and add fun to the book.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

<i>Emotional Explorers</i> begins with an interesting concept: Comparing our inner landscapes with the landscapes of the earth. There were aspects of this book I enjoyed throughout: The illustrations were sweet, some of the chapter introductions were interesting, and about half the activities sounded really fun (I particularly liked the idea of having kids create their own personal planet and maps).

I think the biggest con of the book was that it's not clear exactly who this is written for. The introduction implies it's meant to be read and used with children, but the language throughout seemed to indicate that the only bits kids would actually read would be the chapter intros. Other portions of the chapter seemed to be addressed to the teacher or adults around the kids. In one activity, kids are asked to choose from a list of items the things they'd like to bring with them on a desert island. Included on the list are alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. Maybe these are meant to be easy "no" options, but it made me stop and stare for a bit, wondering if this is actually intended for teens or even adults.

The language used in the book also skews it toward an adult audience. "Ecologist" is used often but never actually defined. Phrases/words like "guilty parties outside yourself," "nuances," "the representative chosen by the animals," "posture" (used in the less common sense, as in "emotional attitude"), etc. I could see these quickly tripping up young readers and creating barriers between participants and the text.

Some parts of this book struck me as talking down to the child participants. The "Let's Think" sections included very leading and often rhetorical questions. If these had been presented as facts or statements, they might have been interesting--but as questions, I could see them quickly shutting down an honest exchange of ideas, as most of them had clear right/wrong answers (if they even required an answer).

In other places, the metaphors seemed to trip over each other. For instance, in an activity asking kids to draw a picture of "the baggage of the emotional ecologist," one item on the list they're meant to include is a "virtual mental trainer to improve everyday ideas" etc. I'm having hard time visualizing what that would look like and connecting the metaphor with the emotion. Other examples (like a compass to point you to your values) makes fairly obvious sense, but some things feel overly complicated.

Finally, though the illustrations and colors were fun, graphic designers beware: The kerning is extreme on some lines, margins fluctuate even on the same page, line spacing is condensed almost to the point of overlap in some places and then is almost double spacing in others... These aren't things kids would probably notice, but since this book really seems to be written for adults I was a bit surprised by the sometimes painful typography.

In conclusion, I love the idea of this book. I think it could be a useful starting point for a teacher or adult who might want to flip through, take ideas, and then create their own lessons.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was not quite what I was expecting. The concept was good, but I thought it was just too much for children. The pictures were colorful and teaching these lessons are important, but I felt it could have been executed in a different way.

This is less a children's book and more a teaching guide for parents to help their children understand the emotions they go through as they develop. It's intricate and thorough so that every question that children may have can likely be answered. The illustrations really sell the book and it should be a wonderful addition to any nonfiction collection in libraries or personal collections at home

While this is marketed as a children's book, I would call it more of a teaching guide. The book provides adults with a clear path to letting children express themselves by themselves. The variety of activities in the book are very well laid out and both fun and educational.

The entire book has beautiful, colorful illustrations throughout which grab and hold the attention of young children.

Thank you to Netgalley and Schiffer Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was completely blown away by this beautifully illustrated book. My
6 year loved to look at the pictures and us slowly go everything. I loved that she was as intrigued with the book as I was. High recommend this book!

A very unique addition to a library's non-fiction collection, in an area -- mindfulness, emotions, and social responsibility -- that is still really underdeveloped in juvenile literature. Lots of practical tips and engaging, colorful illustrations.

I grew up in a turbulent household with a very underdeveloped sense of self - and when I see books like this, I can't help but lament that they weren't around when I was young. It seems this book is meant to be read in an educational situation (think elementary school teachers), and I can really see it shining there. It seems like a great book for discussion. Loved the colorful and calm nature of this book, the many activities listed, and the prompting questions and activities. I do wish this book had more back matter and other resources pages.

This book would be most useful in a classroom or an after-school program, or as supplemental material for teaching another group of young people. The activities were often described in layers of individual work completed than compared to group work.

I would recommend this as a resource to teachers and group leaders who are looking for ways to talk (and get kids to talk) about emotions, but, in my experience, I would not be able to use the resources as-written.

That is, the stories do illustrate the point of the topic/lesson, but (understandably) vary in their level of profundity. The activities, too, with their clippings from magazines and children coming together and looking at each-other’s work (in order to form discussion groups, in one case), felt like they’d need a high ratio of adults to keep things on-track and moving forward with the goal being met.

The illustrations make the target-audience look very young, but the level of work expected of the group seemed sometimes more sophisticated than, well, than I’d expect for the typical target age of a picture book. And if you’re moving out of picture book range, you’ll want to rethink those example-stories, because this can be a tough crowd.

I don’t want to sound like I’m coming down too hard on this. The authors have done some very original work here, with their comparisons and analogies. The students who click-in could benefit immensely from the new perspectives and practice. It might have helped my expectations if I understood ahead of time that this wasn’t something I would find as useful as an individual parent, working with my own children.

(I was provided a digital copy for review by Net Galley)