I think this is a fabulous book but it will need lots of dialogue for interpretation for children. Honestly, I think the illustrations work for a variety of levels to open communication even if you don't follow along the story. I would even recommend this for some adults.

Sweet story. I'm always happy to see children's writers and illustrators take on some hard to talk about topics with their work for children; this is a nice way to start talking to kids about the weight we feel in grief or depression.

Felix After the Rain is a lovely story that examines feelings both bad and good and what happens when you hang on to those feelings or let them go. Felix starts carrying around a weight with him after his grandmother died. And the weight just kept getting bigger with each negative thing that happened to him. It took someone else to help him be able to let it go and feel free again.
I would love to see the conversations that come out from reading this book.

I love the idea of this book, but the execution was poor.

Using the suitcase to visually symbolize the weight of depression was clever, but it seemed like big chunks of the storyline were missing. The story would have benefitted from more explanation of the symbols, especially the second half of the book which moves through the opening of the suitcase, the tears and then the calm far too quickly.

The illustrations were visually appealing apart from Felix who looked more like an adult than a child.

I read this over alone and with my daughters, 8 and 4, but they didn't quite understand the story. It was very choppy and a bit confusing. The concept is wonderful, but it is put together in an odd way and felt as though it was missing parts. I feel oddly rating a book that seemed to be missing sections, but that alone made this book very difficult to understand as well as the page that was when the suitcase was opened. None of it seemed to make sense and the topic of this book was one I loved it was portrayed properly. I'm very sorry to say.. though I'm grateful for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A simple story about letting go of negative emotions weighing you down. I understood what the author was trying to do but I feel like it wasn’t very successful. Equating the suitcase with every negative emotion someone might have and then saying to throw that all away isn’t a healthy way of coping with grief or fear or depression. It didn’t work for me.

This is a nice book but I probably would not use it in the classroom. I liked the fact that the illustrations created a visual of Felix's emotions. However, this book came to a really abrupt solution that doesn't offer a lot of applicable strategies for children. It's a hard rating to give, because the story and illustrations are nice, but with a topic this serious I need a book to present the truth head on.

This was such a beautiful story about a young boy named Felix who carries his sadness and worries with him wherever he goes. I absolutely loved the vivid and unique illustration style, and found the entire theme of this book to be portrayed with just the perfect amount of heaviness to still be a good title for younger children. I will absolutely recommend this to our local library!

2.5 I love the concept but I don’t know if it will land format and verbiage wise. It didn’t fully land for me either.

Felix has to let go of his heavy bag (cue Erykah Badu ‘Bag Lady’ song such a classic! “baaaag lady you gon’ hurt your back.. draggin all them bags like that...let it go let it goo” ok you get the point. Such a great song).

I digress.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Keep the social emotional books coming, publishers!

This short book could be an effective tool for children struggling with anxiety or depression. Through the metaphor of a very heavy suitcase, the author describes the burden of a child carrying around these unexpressed feelings, and the relief that comes from finally letting those feelings out, no matter how painful that seems at first.
With the help of an adult who knows the right things to ask and say, this little story shows children that feelings can sometimes be too much to hold on to.

This is a beautifully illustrated story of a boy who drags around a dark suitcase filled with his pains, not knowing what to do with it or how to get rid of it. It's filled with all of the dark things in his mind -- his grandmother's death, hurtful things his father has said to him, and so on. Then a child opens the suitcase and Felix goes through a storm of emotions as he deals with it all, after which he feels light and happy. It's a story that is easy for children to understand even with the metaphors and with the fact that it is translated into English. This will be a good book to discuss with kids afterwards, great for kids who are healing from trauma or just to understand that we must all deal with our dark feelings if we don't want to be burdened with them forever.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is about Felix's feelings and how things said to him or hurt him get tied up in a suitcase.