PARTS OF ME

Casperson’s picture book offers little ones an introduction to understanding feelings.

A fluffy, orange, ball-shaped creature with rabbit-like ears frolics about in a field as it experiences different emotions. When the creature’s mood changes, corresponding primary colors appear in the background: Golden yellow and orange hues intermingle for happiness; blue-shaded clouds and raindrops abound for sadness; black lines streak through fiery red for anger; and bubbly turquoise represents gladness. This story is a simplified take on the premise of the popular Pixar movie Inside Out, personifying each of the main character’s emotions as separate entities within it. The author’s aim is to convey the different parts as a whole for kids who might not understand what feelings are, or that it is normal to feel these different ways as they’re “discovering the wonders of who they are.” The range of emotions portrayed is limited to the most basic ones (happiness and gladness feel too similar). The rhyming prose is elementary as well and only names the different feelings; the lack of discussion about what might cause a particular feeling leaves little room for young readers to make personal connections and identify themselves in similar moments. Still, the simple presentation, in tandem with Ritscher’s color-saturated illustrations, will help young children see that, within one small person, there are many ways to feel.

A warm but sometimes oversimplified emotional primer.