We loved this new release from Tom Percival which reflected something which happened to me as a child - my birthday party had to be cancelled due to a huge snowfall. As always, Tom explores BIG feelings within a simple, effective and very child-centred plot.

Another 5 star read from one of our favourite children’s authors! We have all the books in the series and Bea’s Bad Day fits in perfectly. Loved the characters, loved the moral of the story and as always love the illustrations! These books are auto-buys for us and having a sneak at this before our book arrived was very exciting!!

Another marvellous Percival picture book - coping with disappointment and change.

Bea is REALLY looking forward to her birthday and has it all planned out in her head, with family, presents, cake - it's going to be perfect.

But snow spoils her plans when the postman and then the guests can't get through... her birthday is ruined! Or is it? Her brother, her parents and a few alternatives might just mean Bea's day isn't quite what she'd thought - but it might still be the best day ever.

Lovely story about coping with big feelings that are hard to express. Percival manages with both images and words to show Bea working through the emotions and managing to feel happy, to still feel excitement and contentment, even with changes to her life.

Nicely expressed, and a great series.

For ages 3-6.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I love these Big Bright Feelings books and use them a lot at school. This one is just as great, as we follow Bea on her birthday as she deals with one disappointment after another. Lovely book to help children understand their feelings, and how to deal with them.

This is my first time reading this series, and definitely want to read the rest of the stories. It tells you about Bea and how she overcome her bad day. Not everything happens the way she wants it but if only she change her perspective’s.. maybe everything turned out to be okay! Love this book so much!

As a teacher I was very excited to get a chance to have a first look at this new Tom Percival book. We love the big feelings books and this one was no exception. It shows that not everything goes our way and it is OK to be disappointed about things not going the right way for us. Children can have very big feelings when something goes wrong even if it is something small and this book shows how we can deal with it, and allow others to help us smooth over the cracks.
Beautifully illustrated and easy to read and share with children. I know this one will be added to our collection at school!

Bea's Bad Day is wonderful! I am a teacher and love reading the Big Bright Feelings books with my pupils. They are always written and illustrated so beautifully to help young people understand things they may experience.
This installment was no different. Bea's Bad Day is written so poignantly and shows children that things don't always happen as we'd like them to and it is okay to feel disappointed.
Excited to read this one with my class when it's released. Would definitely recommend to others who have or work with children.

Bea is a little girl with big expectations for her birthday, but nothing goes as planned. This book is an outstanding depiction of how to handle significant emotions and unmet expectations. Tom Percival has consistently excelled in helping children navigate their big feelings, and this book is yet another masterpiece in delicately addressing emotional challenges. It is a must-have addition to every children's book collection.

Tom Percival is a firm favourite at school so I was excited to get chance to review this before it’s published next month.

Bea is counting down to her birthday and looking forward to the perfect day with her whole family! She is excited when the snow starts to fall, even though it stops her birthday post from being delivered. Then it stops her dad being able to go and get the party food, and bit by bit, all her plans gets ruined. Luckily, her brother does his best to cheer Bea up and as they are having fun in the snow, the bad day becomes not so bad and birthday fun gradually resumes!

Another spectacular story from Tom Percival that deals with the big feelings that children have. It shows how Bea’s excitement quickly turns to disappointment and the hopeless feeling of something special being ruined. The way her brother helps lift her mood is just lovely and the book conveys the important message that even if things don’t go to plan, that they can still go well, just in a different way.

Fabulous illustrations and I love the way that colour, and the use of black and white, reflect Bea’s mood.

Looking forward to it joining Ruby’s Worry, Ravi’s Roar and Meesha Makes Friends in our school library.

Bea’s Bad Day
By Tom Percival
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Bea is really looking forward to her birthday, her family coming to visit and her birthday treats. But when things start to go wrong, Bea struggles to cope with these changes. Her frustrations start to get the better of her and her birthday isn’t the fun day she was looking forward to.

Tom Percival delivers another beautiful picture book as part of the Big Bright Feelings series for little people. This picture books tells readers it’s ok to feel cross and angry when things go wrong. It’s ok to feel disappointed when things change. And it’s ok to ask for help on these occasions.

When the snow falls and the roads are blocked, Bea realises that friends, family and her birthday party food isn’t going to arrive. So it’s left to her big brother to save the day.
Can Bea find a way to control and manage her emotions?
Can her brother turn the BAD day into a better day - a birthday to remember?

Another brilliant, funny and reassuring picture book little people will love and understand. It’s our job as grown-ups to open the conversations about;
managing our emotions,
turning a negative into a positive,
ways to build resilience,
setting realistic expectations and
understanding disappointment as part of life’s balance.

Thank you Tom - a MUST for any educational setting!


Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley

Another wonderful book from Tom Percival. There are twists and turns in this short narrative. The pictures are beautiful. The moral, again, shines through.

Another great picture book in this series by Tom Percival.
Bea is having to deal with disappointment when heavy snowfall interrupts her birthday plans.
Beautiful illustrations and text help understanding of different emotions in an easily accessible way for children.
A great addition to the classroom Library.

Tom Percival has done it again!

Another fantastic instalment in the Big Bright Feelings series teaching children about feelings and how to deal with them in an engaging, child friendly manner. Exceptional illustrations to accompany a great message.

Bea has to deal with disappointment on what she had hoped to be the perfect day. With the help of her family, Bea manages to make the most of her special day, despite it not going as planned!

Another book to add to our Big Feelings book box.

How does he manage it? Yet again Tom Percival has taken a tricky situation faced by all children (and adults) and carefully crafted a story that we can all relate to and learn from. Full of empathy and understanding, it shows both how the people can be supported and how disappointments can be overcome, creating resilience.
Just frustrated to wait until July 2024 for it to publish!!

I love Tom Percival's books.. They're great for reading to children because they're great stories. The 'message' within each book is shown through a childs point of view, so they can identify with those big feelings. Poor Bea!
Thanks to Netgalley.

A fabulous book about feelings from the expert Tom Percival, who has a wonderful knack for presenting the big things in an accessible, child-digestable manner.

When Bea's big birthday plans are thwarted by a snowstorm the cracks really being to appear - the visuals here are great.

A big book about big feelings and how to cope when things don't go to plan.

Nurturing, kind and thoughtful.

Emma Perry

We love Tom Percival books in our house and this one will be no exception.

Bea has been looking forward to her birthday but then everything goes wrong and her birthday isn't anything like what she imagined.

The story is simple but effective, with a lovely message for children struggling with disappointment.

The illustrations are beautiful and the shattering effect is really effective in showing Bea's mood. The colours against the grey showing all the good parts of Bea's day is brilliant.

We'll be adding this to the list of books for my daughter when she gets a bit bigger.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

The latest in a series from Tom Percival, all about big feelings. When everything seems to go wrong for Bea, her feelings get the better of her and she finds it hard to enjoy herself when everything has changed. Little by little she learns that things can go wrong and you can accept it. It's about moving on and making do with what you have now. Sweet illustrations and perfect for the classroom.

Wonderful picture book giving a realistic and accessible look at how to deal with emotions. With some beautiful illustrations that will be appealing to all ages.

This book was so great! I loved the story of it and was great at explaining the emotions to kids. My daughter loved this and the pictures really helped explain the story as well.