Elementary SEL Read Alouds

Visiting Feelings harnesses a young child’s innate capacity to fully experience the present moment. Rather than labeling or defining specific emotions and feelings, Visiting Feelings invites children to sense, explore, and befriend any feeling with acceptance and equanimity. Children can explore their emotions with their senses and gain an understanding of how feelings can lodge in the body, as conveyed by common expressions like “a pit in the stomach” or “lump in the throat.”

When Ruby asks Robot if he loved the story as much as she did, he tells her that he doesn’t know what love is. If it’s not something he can see, then what could it be?

Ruby describes emotions to her Robot. She teaches him what each feels like (“love feels like a box of butterflies!”) and when she feels them (“I sometimes feel that way when I’m told no more TV!”).

With colorful metaphors and vibrant imagery, A Box of Butterflies takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery and emotional reflection, identifying not just love, but jealousy, anger, worry, and a host of other emotions.

Ira and Malcolm are best friends: they always make each other laugh, always eat lunch together, and always play together. But one day, a disagreement about whether to play tag or hide-and-seek sees the suddenly über-popular Malcolm run off with a crowd of tag-loving kids―and Ira all alone.

Ira’s tummy hurts, his chin is wibbling, and his eyes are leaking. What’s happening?! Any efforts to cheer him up fall flat. When Malcolm finally returns and asks what’s wrong, Ira tells him: “I had all these feelings…and I didn’t have you.”

In Anh’s Anger, five-year-old Anh becomes enraged when his grandfather askim to stop playing and come to the dinner table. The grandfather helps Anh fully experience all stages of anger by suggesting that he go to his room and, "sit with his anger." The story unfolds when Anh discovers what it means to sit with his anger. He comes to know his anger in the first person as his anger comes to life in full color and personality. Anh and his anger work through feelings together with humor and honesty to find a way to constructively release their thoughts and emotions and to reach resolve with Anh’s grandfather.

When you're a child, it's not easy to control your impulses. Children aren't always aware that what they are doing is inappropriate.

Third-grader Braden loves to be the center of attention. His comic genius, as he sees it, causes his friends to look at him in awe.

But some poor decision-making, like ill-timed jokes in class and an impulsive reaction during gym that left a classmate teary-eyed and crumpled on the floor, forces the adults in Braden's life to teach him about impulse control.

But will the lessons shared by his teachers and his mom really help Braden manage his impulses? Young readers will enjoy this story filled with relatable and common situations all children share.

Do you have an anxiety monster that is big, and wild, and likes to visit you? Is there any way to tame him? Can he be a helpful monster that you just might not mind having around? Find out in this delightful new book with practical solutions just for kids that deal with anxiety. Your child may also feel empowered by the child in this story as he becomes more confident. While learning new coping strategies to deal with his anxiety, his monster shrinks. He may not be able to make his monster go away completely, but he can learn to tame him!

“Our Class is a Family” is a book that will help build and strengthen that class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where it’s safe to be themselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s important to be a friend to others. When hearing this story being read aloud by their teacher, students are sure to feel like they are part of a special family.

Louise has a new neighbor, the creative and offbeat Andie—but can they overcome their differences and be friends?

Louise loves art more than anything. Imagine her delight when a new neighbor, Andie, moves in . . . and she loves art too! It’s the best day ever.

But liking the same thing doesn’t always mean you agree on it. Can they overcome their creative differences?

Sometimes friendship, like art, can require collaboration.

MOST OF THE TIME, Randolph is very, very nice. But when his friend Ivy gets invited to a sleepover birthday party and he doesn’t, Randolph feels a little left out. This story recognizes that even best friends aren’t always good friends (sometimes they can be downright rotten!).

When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers―the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.

The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.

This simple yet powerful picture book--from a New York Times bestselling husband-and-wife team--tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying. Inspired by real events, I Walk with Vanessa explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly, and shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. By choosing only pictures to tell their story, the creators underscore the idea that someone can be an ally without having to say a word. With themes of acceptance, kindness, and strength in numbers, this timeless and profound feel-good story will resonate with readers young and old.

This picture-book biography is an excellent and accessible introduction for young readers to learn about one of the world’s most influential leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Doreen Rappaport weaves the immortal words of Dr. King into a captivating narrative to tell the story of his life.

A rare look at emotional bullying among boys. D.J.’s friend Vince has a habit of teasing D.J. and then saying, Just kidding!” as if it will make everything okay. It doesn’t, but D.J. is afraid that if he protests, his friends will think he can’t take a joke. With help, D.J. progresses from feeling helpless to taking positive action, undermining the power of two seemingly harmless words.

Jake’s bragging is really starting to get to Tyler. With the help of his uncle, Tyler begins to understand that Jake’s bragging has nothing to do with Tyler’s own abilities and that puffing yourself up leaves little room for friends.

Monica never expected to be bullied by her best friend-but that’s exactly what happens when Katie starts name-calling, excluding, and talking about Monica behind her back. With help from a supportive adult, Monica learns to cope and thrive, by facing her fears and reclaiming her power.