This is such a well-written book for children explaining the differences between sympathy and empathy. I have the Little Spot of Emotion book series for my kids, which helps them identify the different feelings they might have, which they love! This is such a great book for understanding the feelings of OTHERS. The book is recommended for ages 6-9 years. I would lean more towards 8 or 9, as it is quite long and there is quite a bit of information printed on each page. I'm not sure the average 6 year old would have the attention span for this. But when my daughter is a little older and ready to try reading this again, I will be re-introducing it.

As an adult, I found "What Are They Feeling" helped me to understand more about human feelings and emotions. With "Detective Feelings" as lead character, it also made me aware more to not jump into conclusion on someone's emotion/feeling. Most of time, we need to assess more evidence and talk to them. Not only guessing.

We, the adults, also likely to assume that we are center of the universe. In fact, we are not! Detective Feelings once again reminds me that people just do care with themselves. And when someone mad/angry/disappointed, is not always about us. The best thing to know: ask and talk.

This book presented in color with cute illustrations that will make your read aloud session with children becomes more interesting.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book before reading: I think something like wondering what others are feeling needs to be handled just right. For example, I wouldn't want too much emphasis on others' feelings because it might make the reader feel hyper aware of those feelings or feel like they're responsible for others' feelings. However, in reading I realized that this is an incredible resource for kids (or even older) who are learning about reading other people. This would be a fantastic resource for any SEL curriculum, program, or unit. It teaches kids to think about multiple possibilities for why someone might look or act like. It shows how we can't make assumptions about others feelings and to truly know we need to ask them. This would be so helpful for kids as they're learning to navigate social situations and friendships -- and especially helpful for our friends with autism or those who have a hard time understanding others' feelings, body language, facial expressions, and so on. At the end it talks about how even though it sometimes feels like it that others' feelings are often not about us --and how we might ask them about what we notice and ask if we can do anything to help. I love this social emotional resource and I think that teachers, school staff, librarians, parents, counselors, social workers, mental health professionals, and kids will too!

I love the idea of "detective feelings", because this is such an accessible concept for kids. The focus of this book is on empathy and I especially love the page about empathy with people who have done something wrong. As a teacher this is something I encounter on a regular basis and it's great to have a book to use with my students to talk about that.
I also really like the illustrations and the tone of the book (it's not talking down to the children, but rather trying to meet them at their level).
I would have loved to see more emotions explained here. Nonetheless, this is a great resource!

What a wonderful book! Most books just talk about feelings and how you feel. This is the first book I’ve read (I think!) that talks about understanding other people’s feelings and how to understand them.

We go on a journey with Detective Feelings who looks for clues to help them understand how people feel. They look for expression, body language and situation.

They explain that even though someone has a smile on their face there could be so many different options as to how they are really feeling.

The book also talks about empathy and sympathy with definitions and full explanations.

Lovely book

Loving this series, after reading the first book "What Are You Feeling?" this is a great companion that completes each other. Teaching young minds about empathy and how to differentiate from sympathy is very important. I wish this book could expand to other products, such as teaching materials for counselors, and picture cards.

I love how this book helps to simplify difficult topics for children to understand. Thank you The School of Life and Net Galley for providing digital ARC for "What Are They Feeling?"
A solid five stars from me!

The book emphasizes the importance of empathy by guiding children through the process of recognizing and interpreting emotions based on expressions, body language, and situational context. Through Detective Feelings’ adventures, kids learn how to pick up on clues about how others might be feeling—whether they’re smiling, frowning, or experiencing something that affects their mood.

One of the book’s strengths is its ability to make complex concepts like empathy and sympathy accessible to children. It explores scenarios where children might need to empathize with others despite not having the same experiences, such as moving to a new country or starting at a new school. This not only helps children understand the emotions of others but also encourages them to consider perspectives different from their own.

What Are They Feeling? The Adventures of an Empathy Detective by The School of Life is a fantastic resource for teaching children about the importance of understanding others’ emotions. Following Detective Feelings, kids are introduced to the art of empathy by observing expressions, body language, and situational clues to decipher how someone might be feeling. The book wonderfully explains how empathy and sympathy help us connect with others, even when their experiences are different from our own.

The engaging narrative is complemented by vibrant and amusing illustrations from award-winning illustrator Daniel Gray-Barnett, making the adventures of Detective Feelings captivating and enjoyable. This book is an excellent tool for parents and educators to help children develop emotional intelligence and foster a compassionate outlook on the world.​⬤

"It's important to think about what others might be feeling, so we can understand the people around us better and be a good friend."

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

What Are They Feeling? by the School of Life is a picture book with various agreeable and clever points and stunning illustrations, aimed for children. After reading this, it’s no doubt that you will understand what others are feeling and emphasize with them well and with technique.

While it’s mainly targeted for young children, its information can be consumed by readers of all ages looking for guidance on understanding and emphasizing others’ emotions.

There are ideas I really agree with. Such as other people’s feelings are not always be about you. For example, if someone seems down or seems to feel negative, understand that instead of it being about yourself, it often is caused by another reason. However, it’s important and will be kind for us to try and make them feel better if they’re feeling negative.

But of course, it’s important that we don’t assume, either. Everyone’s feelings are complicated. They are not always one or the other; they’re often mixed. Another reason to try and put yourself in their shoes and make them feel better.

But what about those who were mean to you? Do you still show empathy? Well, according to this book, and in which I agree with, empathy is for everyone. If you show empathy even to who you think of as a mean person, it will help both you and that person.

I also liked the various examples that involves the reader and engages them to look for clues on what one might be feeling. Which also made it more interesting.

And like I said, I did enjoy the simple yet unique illustrations by Daniel Gray-Barnett. The pictures are perfectly painted to fit the topic of discussion as well as capture the interest of readers.

However, I did notice that there was a lot of repetition about being emphatic and sympathetic. There were lots of redundant definitions and lots of examples—which made the book feel unorganized at times.

Additionally, I think this book might not be completely captivating for very young readers since the prose might be a bit plain and is not too entertaining in various sections—but it’s only my personal opinion.

However, the repetition could ensure that readers really understand how important showing empathy to others are. After all, “We want to live in a world where everyone has a lot more empathy for everyone else.”

Thank you to NetGalley and The School of Life for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is great for kids in second to fifth grade. It has formatting that includes images with text chunks, which is important for this age group so that readers can understand and have time to digest. "What are They Feeling?" teaches kids how to identify and read body language and feelings of others to be kinder friends and people.

The book included relevant questions that makeup sections, making it a great resource for readers to look back at when social problems come up. While I didn't love the art style, it served its' purpose well in illustrating the ideas.

If you have a class or child in this age range, I think this would be a good resource to read through with children in your life. It may bring up new conversations or reiterate important topics.

The formatting was messed up on my kindle so I don't think I got the full extent of what it was meant to be. I love the idea and think doing case studies and pictures for kids to be a "feelings detective" is a wonderful idea but I feel like it could have been executed a little better. There were still too many words and not enough reflection questions or space. So I think it's a 5-star concept worth continuing to explore, but the execution of the concept in this book was only 3-stars.

Empathy and sympathy is one virtue that every body should grow in their life along his journey. This new book from School of Life will be a big help for many children around the world to explore their feelings and others' feelings. My child like to read it again and again.

This book is perfect for families. It was a great find for us. This book helps show children how to understand what others around them can be feeling. They also learn to understand empathy and what it means. In this fun and creative book we follow Detective Feelings through their adventures as they discover how people are feeling by understanding the situation, watching their expression, and by noticing body language. The book was fun and creative and made understanding feelings easier for children. The illustrations helped keep it simple and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book to all families.

This has been a lovely book to share with toddlers and preschool at nursery. Some really nice discussions and really helped their understanding

Kids will love Detective Feelings.

"What Are They Feeling?" takes children on a journey of empathy through the adventures of Detective Feelings, who teaches them to identify emotions by observing expressions, body language, and situations. The book emphasizes the importance of empathy and sympathy, even in situations where experiences differ. An added bonus are Daniel Gray-Barnett's vibrant illustrations, which bring the story to life, making it an engaging and educational read for children.

Thank you School of Life and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book will be perfect to use in my classroom! Highly recommend for kiddos who need more emotional awareness.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I would love to have this physical book for my classroom. There is a lot of information on each page, but could be pared down when reading to a younger group, or read in multiple sittings. Thoroughly covers all aspects of identifying emotions and feelings in others, even touching on things like how others' feelings and reactions may not have anything to do with the reader, and numersous reasons why someone may be smiling other than "feeling happy" e.g. being nervous, to please others, etc. Makes it fun and relatable by putting the reader in the role of detective.

Thank you NetGalley and The School of Life for the early access copy of What Are They Feeling?

What Are They Feeling? is an engaging tool to teach how to look for clues on how someone else might be feeling. It tackles topics like the difference between sympathy and empathy, how body language and situations can indicate how someone is feeling, but also that there are other factors, and feelings can be tricky. Using a "Feelings Detective" to help decipher the different emotions and expressions, this book can be used as a tool for school aged children to have a better understanding on those around them.

What Are They Feeling? has colorful and engaging illustrations that will catch the readers' eye. This book will be a great resource for educators and school libraries.

Time to share my weekly children’s book reviews. My kids get so excited to see what books I have to read before naps, bedtime, or at breakfast. There are some really cute ones to add to your children’s summer reading book lists!

Scooper and Dumper and the Pumpkin Parade by Lindsay Ward comes out July 8th. My three boys loved the trucks adventures with the pumpkins.

A Rubbish Journey by Jonah Rideout was a really cute chapter book my daughter loved. The story was fun, and entertaining. It comes out June 24.

Keep Trucking by Raven Howell was an adorable book. The illustrations were super cute and my boys again loved the truck story. It comes out May 10.

Ain’t It Funny by Margaret Gurevich was another fun chapter book about following your dreams. My daughter really enjoyed this one. It comes out October 14.

What Are They Feeling by the School of Life is one that is so sweet and great to explain emotions. The kids and I had some fun conversations to follow this one. It comes out September 11.

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Kar is a wonderful story of friendship, and takes you back to 1860. It comes out October 7.

Hailma Superhero Princess by Emily Joof was adorable. The storyline and illustrations were very exciting for the kids. It comes out September 2.

The Sun Never Hurries by Roxane Turcotte was my favorite. Such a precious story and the illustrations were darling. It comes out June 24.

Make a Little Wave by Kerry O’Malley Cerra is a really exciting story! My daughter said this was her favorite. She loved the characters. It comes out September 30.

To Mimi’s House We Go by Susan Meissner was another of my favorite. The story, the pictures, the adventure it took you on was absolutely precious. A fun one for the holidays. Comes out Sept 9.

Leonardo Cohen by Maria Isabel Sanchez-Vegara was a cute story! My kids love to learn new things and these are always so full of knowledge to take away. It comes out August 5.

Fall Feast by Sean Taylor made our family very excited for playing in the leaves. It comes out August 5.

Diwali by Sital Gorasia Chapman was such a good one for kids to learn about another culture. It comes out August 5.

📚 What Are They Feeling? 📚

Published by The School of Life

This is a wonderful guide to the feelings of those around us. It teaches children to look for clues about how somebody could be feeling. I really liked the way it explained how we can never truly know how someone is feeling, a point that was reiterated throughout the book.

The book tackles the difficult task of explaining the difference between sympathy and empathy. The explanations are incredibly clear but also highlight how tricky this skill this!

I love the illustrations that go with the book. This is definitely one that I will be using with the classes in school to further develop our work on emotional intelligence.

This is a review copy from @netgalley but all views are my own.