Making Friends with Feelings

Making Friends with Feelings by Keith Ruffner, illustrated by Kate Gieyzer, is about three friends—Shiner, Molly, and Buddy. These three little rabbits have very BIG feelings. And their feelings confuse them. Their feelings make them sad, confused, and even angry! They are such big feelings that they can’t handle them alone.

Molly is overwhelmed by her new home. Everything is so new and different. In her new place, she meets two other bunnies who have their own big feelings. Buddy is so sad that he won’t come out to play. Shiner feels so confused about how Buddy treated him that he doesn’t know what to do. Will the little bunnies manage their big feelings and find a way to play together after all? Molly is critical in helping them solve their feelings, but when she feels left out, will Buddy and Shiner seek her out and help her the way she helped them?

Making Friends with Feelings is about making friends and how feelings are associated with that. It’s a very good book and it taught me about not getting overly emotional. I like the bunnies. I really really really liked the bunnies. I liked how the bunnies worked together to help each other. That was really nice of them. This story demonstrates how to manage difficult feelings and how to offer help to someone who is struggling. It helps readers understand how to work with their feelings and with each other. They all make mistakes sometimes but are able to talk their way through their problems. We, as the readers, learn from them, as the bunnies help their friends. We learn how to listen with compassion, take care of others emotionally, and be considerate of someone else. The bunnies show how it takes courage to help others and to process big feelings.

Filled with compassion and beautiful illustrations, Making Friends with Feelings is a lovable book to enjoy with young readers and a great reminder for their caregivers about being present for big feelings. It’s not always easy and it takes a lot of time and attention but is always worth it. It also helps young readers start to understand how to be there for others. This book will leave readers feeling happy, happy, happy. We enjoyed the pictures a lot; the bunnies are sooooo cute!