This is a wonderful book to open dialog with little ones when they are feeling different emotions. I really like the use of the squishy and you can get the same one in the back of the book. Each emotion is given in example. It has the wrong way to handle it, then the same scenario dealing with them the right way. Adding too are the colorful artwork sure to delight any child. I this is also a great book for a preschool library.

I loved this book and will buy several copies and give them away as gifts. I also plan to look into the other Awesome Dawson books.
I like that they teach the cue "are your emotions too big?" Thats an excellent nonconfrontational way to bring the topic up with your child in public to calm a tantrum.
The description suggests ages 4-11. I think it can be read to a much younger child. Although I dont know if it is available in a board book.I received this galley from NetGalley.

Awesome Dawson: My Emotions Have A Job! is a cute children's picture book, although the main character seems a bit bossy. the mother-son relationship is adorably sweet and idyllic. There are a few major formatting issues with this book. Several of the images and pages near the end of the book seem to be on a repetitive cycling pattern which needs attention. Possibly delving deeper into the linear structure of this book could resolve this issues-- think about how the actual visit to the zoo by a mother and son would progress and write about this encounter without the need to repeat images and scenes.

5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Boys Town Press for this eARC. I confirm this review is honest and that all thoughts are my own.

Now THIS is exactly what I am looking for when it comes to finding a book to explain feelings and the importance of ALL emotions to my son. Having gone through therapy, I was taught about all the jobs different emotions have to help you through different scenarios in life, and those we perceive as negative are just as important. I want to carry that knowledge on to my son as I think it’s such a valuable tool to understand and acknowledge all emotions and feelings within your body.

What I loved about this book especially was how it highlighted how Dawson felt sensations from these emotions in his body and also gave them each a colour (mindfulness). This is such a great way to become grounded and helps process these feelings more easily. I also liked how we were shown 2 different outcomes with the same outburst scenarios. One without using a calming aid (Dawson’s squishy) and one with. This is a useful tip for both the child and parent to try and incorporate as a tool to let out any overwhelming emotions in a safe way, helping to help self-regulate.

The last page was also very useful to parents as it explained things in more depth and gave us a step by step guide of how to calm ourselves in moments when we need to be calm for our children. I know I often become overwhelmed so this was a really helpful reminder.

I will absolutely be buying this book when it’s released so I can read it to my son regularly.

This is a lovely book that helps explain how to deal with your emotions and how they are a natural part of us.

In the job of teaching my kids how to deal with their emotions, this book was a great addition! It explains so well and truthfully what happens in a typical day out with children, when they get excited, frustrated, tired, preoccupied, and it's a great tool for all to see how things can work out for the best.

Thanks Julia for writing books!

This is a book for parents to read and discuss with their children. It accurately describes the basic emotions that we all feel and portrays them in real situations that young children would experience. The book provides parents with ways to help their children better understand themselves and their emotions.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of Awesome Dawson: My Emotions Have a Job by Julia Cook in exchange for a honest review.As a preschool educator who works in a preschool disabled classroom , I believe it is very important for children in this age range to have a heads up for encounters they will have for the day and how they might react to them.This book shows all the different emotions that are inside us and how we react to certain events in our life.This book offers strategies for young learners to use to help cope with adversary.A very important learning tool.

Thank you NetGalley! What a cute book about emotions. I love how the child/main character described each emotion and how he felt them, as well as what they did for him. The illustrations were awesome!

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

A good look at emotions, what they are, how they feel and what to do when they take over. Very colorful and informative.

overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt it had positive representation of emotions and how sometimes it can be hard to control them. I enjoyed that the messaging was neutral around emotions and not making them seem like something bad or that has to be hidden away. I think this messaging will resonate with lots of parents. I feel that my preschool/kindergarten each children would be easy able to relate to Dawson his emotions and I felt the situation that they use it for examples of emotions were age-appropriate for the target audience. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed the colorful illustrations. I feel that my children are able to associate certain colors with emotions, particularly red with angry and blue is sad.

An absolutely wonderful emotional learning book. This book does a great job of explaining the physical feelings of emotions as well as how they can be helpful. It does not villainize any of them which is so important and teaches a wonderful coping technique with the squishy. I also love the example of language used by the mother in the situations.

I can tell this is one I’ll be reading repeatedly to my daughter, because boy are we struggling with emotions big time lately. I found this helpful both for me and for her, especially in showing her that other children have big emotions when they really want (or don’t want) something as well.

My toddlers and I read this for their bedtime story this evening and while it held my older toddlers attention (3 and a half year old) my younger toddler (1 and a half year old) didn't really take to this story. The topic of feelings has been a big one in our house lately and I found the explanations on feelings in this book to be very helpful and easily understandable for older toddlers. The illustrations were cute and I loved the portrayal of using a squishy to help self-regulate your emotions.

A great book that describes emotions in a fun and informative way for a younger reader. Great for preschool age kids and a solution based way of controlling emotions. My 4 year old really enjoyed it and for me that's an excellent review.

This book is a beautiful way to explore the world of feelings for little children.

What I love about this book?

1. It does a good job of showing young readers that feeling happy, sad, angry, and worried is just a part of life. Just like what Dawson experiences at the zoo.
2. Another good thing about this story is how it gently shows that even though feelings tell us stuff, we can learn to manage them instead of them taking over.

When things don't go perfectly for Dawson at the zoo (like no carousel or treat), young readers will see how his emotions react. But of course...the story doesn't stop there! With a little help, the book shows how Dawson figures out that he can be in control of how he feels. Kids will understand from this that they are strong enough to deal with their feelings in good ways.

This book is not just interesting. It also has a really good lesson for everyone. Both adults and young readers will see that it's easy to begin conversations about feelings and learn simple ways to manage them. The story reminds us that our feelings help us, and we can learn to guide them. This is a STRONG LESSON kids will remember even after the story ends.

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Disclaimer: Thanks to the author who wrote this book and Netgalley for letting me read it. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

We have been struggling with my two young kids lately with emotion regulation. This book made it to easy to show them what their emotions are for and how to deal with them in a healthy way. My kids loved the colors and the illustrations. I can't wait to have a hard copy in our personal library.

Dawson explores his emotions through a trip to the zoo with his mom. I like the use of color to show his emotions and it makes it easy for young readers to understand emotions getting too big. I liked the use of the squishy toy for regulation. Overall my son and I enjoyed the book.

This children’s book is exactly the kind of book I wish I had growing up. I read this with my 4 year old daughter and it was fun, engaging, and super relatable story that helps kids understand their emotions in a way that actually makes sense to them. Dawson is such a lovable character, and watching him learn how each emotion has an important role to play is both heartwarming and incredibly helpful.

The message is clear without being preachy, and the illustrations are colorful and full of energy—perfect for keeping little ones interested. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or counselor, this book is a total gem for opening up conversations about feelings, self-regulation, and mental wellness.

Bottom line: it’s fun, smart, and packed with tools kids can really use. Highly recommend!

Thank you Boys Town Press for an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Adorable! I liked the concept of using the squishy to help regulate the emotions to a more manageable solution.