Some children do not need louder instructions.
They need softer tools.
Big Feelings Are OK is a growing collection of gentle picture books created for children who feel things deeply, especially autistic children, ADHD children, highly sensitive children, and little ones who struggle with transitions, sensory overwhelm, disappointment, mistakes, screen time, bath time, or leaving places they love.
These books are written to be easy to follow, emotionally safe, and comforting for children who need stories that do not shame their big feelings.
They are also made for the exhausted grown-ups standing in the hallway, whispering, “Please just put your shoes on,” while their nervous systems slowly turn into soup.
Emotional Regulation Books For Children Who Feel Everything Loudly
The Big Feelings Are OK collection was created to support real family moments: the park meltdown, the tablet battle, the bath-time refusal, the sudden change of plan, the noise that feels too much, the mistake that feels like the end of the world.
Each story gently introduces practical coping skills to help children:
- Recognise big feelings
- Name emotions
- Understand body signals
- Pause before reacting
- Try calming strategies
- Manage transitions
- Cope with disappointment
- Build flexible thinking
- Feel safe after mistakes
- Ask for help when everything feels too much
Rather than teaching children to suppress emotions, these books help them understand that feelings are not “bad.” Feelings are signals. And with the right support, children can learn what to do with them.
I Can Calm Down Collection
These books were designed as an inclusive toolkit to help children regulate their emotions and encourage them to personalise the character. This allows them to self-identify, making it easier for children to retain the information and tools provided.
Who These Books Are For
These books may be helpful for:
- Parents of autistic children
- Parents of ADHD children
- Highly sensitive children
- Children with sensory processing differences
- Children who struggle with transitions
- Children who find screen time ending difficult
- Children who dislike bath time, washing or hair rinsing
- Children who become overwhelmed in noisy places
- Children who struggle with mistakes, shame or frustration
- Toddlers and young children learning emotional regulation
- Teachers, SEND staff, carers, childminders and grandparents
They are not heavy parenting manuals. They are gentle stories with practical tools tucked inside, like tiny emotional first-aid kits with paws, feathers and soft jumpers.
Big Feelings Are OK: It’s Time to Leave the Park
A dinosaur picture book that turns going home into a gentle game for ages 4+.
This story supports children who struggle when fun has to end. It helps with leaving the park, moving from one activity to another, using countdowns, accepting endings, and coping with disappointment.
Helpful for: leaving the park, transition meltdowns, going home, timers, disappointment, emotional regulation
Big Feelings Are OK: Bath Time Is Coming
A gentle bath-time story for children who find washing, water, hair, ears, or bathroom routines overwhelming.
This book uses predictability, small steps and playful reassurance to help bath time feel less like a battle and more like a manageable routine.
Helpful for: bath refusal, sensory sensitivity, hair washing, water worries, bedtime routines, autistic children, and ADHD children.
Big Feelings Are OK: When Things Feel Too Loud
A gentle story about sensory overwhelm, noisy environments, emotional regulation and finding calm when everything feels too much.
This book supports children who struggle with parties, crowds, busy rooms, sudden sounds, school noise or environments that feel too big for their bodies.
Helpful for: sensory overwhelm, noise sensitivity, autism, ADHD, parties, busy places, and calming strategies.
Big Feelings Are OK: When We Make Mistakes
A gentle story about mistakes, resilience, self-confidence, emotional regulation and learning to try again.
This story helps children understand that mistakes are not disasters. They are part of learning. It gently supports children who feel embarrassed, ashamed, angry or defeated when something goes wrong.
Helpful for: perfectionism, frustration, shame, self-confidence, resilience, and trying again.
Big Feelings Are OK: When Plans Change
A gentle story about disappointment, flexible thinking and coping with unexpected changes.
This book helps children who find changes to routine difficult. It introduces flexible thinking in a soft, story-led way, without making the child feel wrong for needing predictability.
Helpful for: routine changes, disappointment, flexible thinking, unexpected changes, and anxiety.
Big Feelings Are OK: No More Tablet Time
A gentle story about screen time, transitions and managing big feelings.
This book supports children who struggle when tablet time, games or favourite screen activities come to an end. It helps families introduce smoother transitions without turning every ending into a thunderstorm in pyjamas.
Helpful for: screen time battles, tablet transitions, stopping games, frustration, and after-screen meltdowns.
Big Feelings Are OK: It’s Time To Go Now
A gentle story for children who struggle with transitions, leaving favourite places, ending activities and moving to the next part of the day.
This book helps children move from “I don’t want to go” towards “I can do the next step.”
Helpful for: leaving places, separation anxiety, transitions, emotional regulation, daily routines.
Big Feelings Are OK: The Feelings Remote
A toddler-friendly emotional regulation book that teaches children simple tools to identify feelings, pause, breathe and ask for support when emotions feel overwhelming.
Helpful for: toddlers, naming emotions, calming down, early emotional regulation, big feelings.
Big Feelings Are OK: A Calming Sensory Story For Autistic Children With Big Emotions
A soft sensory-regulation story for autistic children and children with big emotions who need calm, safety, and reassurance.
This book provides gentle sensory regulation strategies that help children feel grounded during moments of overwhelm.
Helpful for: autistic children, sensory regulation, emotional overwhelm, calm-down reading, and anxiety.
I Can Calm Down Collection
The I Can Calm Down books were created as inclusive, interactive calm-down tools for children learning to manage anger, frustration and emotional overwhelm.
These books encourage children to personalise the character, which can help them self-identify with the story and remember the calming tools more easily.
My Calm Down Book: The Interactive All-Inclusive Calm Down Book For Boys
My Calm Down Book helps boys recognise big feelings, understand anger and practise simple calming strategies in a positive, inclusive way.
It supports children who struggle when anger builds, self-control feels difficult, or feelings come out too fast.
Helpful for: anger, emotional regulation, boys aged 4+, calming down, self-control, and confidence.
I Can Calm Down: The Interactive All-Inclusive Book For Girls
At the heart of I Can Calm Down is a simple idea: girls deserve tools to manage big feelings with confidence, calm and kindness.
This interactive book teaches children that anger is not “bad.” Anger is a signal. With practice, children can learn to recognise it, name it, cool down and choose what to do next.
Helpful for: anger, frustration, confidence, self-regulation, calming strategies, girls aged 4+.
Explore self-help books for anxiety, overthinking, people-pleasing, boundaries, confidence, emotional burnout, modern dating, toxic relationships, ghosting, gaslighting, neurodivergent readers, and real-life personal growth.Nicola Ahern Creative 