I liked this book. The overall message is to not bottle or in Berta’s case box everything in. Emotions, feelings, etc. They need to come out sometimes and that is okay. I don’t like the cover. It is not indicative of the lush drawings found in the pages. Pump up the cover and this book is sure to fly off library shelves.

Berta puts all her feelings into boxes, keeps them tidy and neatly stacked in her room and never lets them out. Her life seems perfect and her parents' friends think she is just the best.
But, one day the feelings all come out, Berta feels better and nothing bad happens. She has learned to express her feelings and now she keeps toys and hair bows in her boxes.
Whats' good: this book will open the door to talk to children about their feelings. The pictures and colorful and represent well what is happening on the page. They are also appealing to the eye. There are several good ideas of what can be done to let out sad or angry feelings.
What's not so good: The story line is very simplistic. Without a caring adult, a child may get the wrong idea about expressing and/or giving vent to her feelings. As a type of bibliotherapy, it might be best for a child to read this book with a certified therapist, rather than a teacher or a parent.

Berta on the outside appears perfect. She is neat and tidy, never lets her anger get the best of her, and never cries. She has a method that keeps everything, to those observing her, in check. Whenever she can't cope she opens a colour-coded box and deposits a particular emotion inside. Then she puts a lid on the box and seals it. Great idea right? Mmmmm...well maybe not...

This method always works until one day Berta's emotions become uncontrollable and she blows! There is not enough space inside all of those boxes to contain how she feels. This is the tipping point when Berta discovers that emotions should be felt, discussed, and sorted out. They are not to be locked up, shoved away and left to fester inside.

This is a wonderful story that deals with learning to understand and express what you are feeling. This book is a great catalyst to help kids ( and perhaps some adults ) discuss and manage their emotions. I love the illustrations which enrich the positive and inspirational message of the book. I recommend "Berta's Boxes".

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the concept of this book, but the execution of that idea didn't totally work for me. I don't feel like it was a good representation of honoring your feelings.

I'm not real keen on this book. I thought it might be about not locking up your emotions, but it failed in my opinion. No one listened to Berta's feelings. She was praised for keeping them in check. The monster was just another box in my opinion. I'll pass. Sorry.

I think young kids will relate to the idea of storing emotions in boxes and why that might not be a great idea. I love that the story arrives at the idea of using creative expression to process feelings. It also encourages self-acceptance.

Where I think kids and teachers may struggle is with HOW Berta arrived at that point. What gave her the idea to make a monster? Why did that lead her to like talking about her feelings? These questions aren't really asked or answered in the text and I think it would have been helpful.

Her parents' dismissal of her is also never really addressed. They seem blithely unconcerned about their child's emotional state and happy for her to just bottle everything up and not trouble them with her feelings or needs. That's always a bit dangerous of a message to put out, especially with female characters.

Ideally anyone reading this with a child would fill in those gaps. This book could provoke some helpful discussions about managing emotions.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This book was super creative and well executed!! Berta's Boxes teaches children that they shouldn't hide their feelings away in order to be a "better child" for their parents, by way of the metaphor of "boxing up" your feelings. The message of this book was great, and one I don't see a lot of children's picture books talk about. Even as an adult I'm definitely guilty of hiding away my feelings in order to keep everybody around me happy, which is a super bad habit, and one I definitely don't want any child replicating. The illustrations in this book were so cute, and the overall message and execution were wonderful! Thank you for the ARC!