Toddler Book Basket: God Created Us With Emotions
February often points us toward love, but for toddlers, emotions show up in every direction all at once. Joy, sadness, anger, excitement, jealousy, delight. Big feelings arrive quickly and leave just as fast. God created our children with emotions on purpose, and He meets them with care in every one.
This month’s theme, God Created Us With Emotions, helps children learn that feelings are not something to fear or hide. God invites us to notice them, name them, and bring them to Him. Through story, repetition, and shared reading, we give children language for what they feel and assurance that God cares about their hearts.
These are the books we reach for in February as we sit with big feelings and remind our children that God’s love remains steady through them all.
What Are Feelings For? by Abby Wedgeworth — This thoughtful book gives language to emotions and reveals their good purpose. I appreciate how it helps children see feelings as meaningful rather than something to push away.
The Dad Who Never Gave Up by Steph Williams — An engaging retelling of the Prodigal Son that captures the wide range of emotions in this month’s Bible story. It gently highlights love, sorrow, joy, and forgiveness through story.
Curious Me! Feelings by Avery Rabedeaux — This book helps toddlers name and recognize emotions they experience every day. It offers simple language that supports early emotional awareness.
Happy and You Know It: Indestructibles Book — This durable favorite highlights one of our monthly songs and invites movement and joy. It works especially well for younger toddlers who learn through rhythm and repetition.
God Cares How I Feel (Little Daily Grace Co) — This board book pairs emotions with where they appear in Scripture. It offers reassurance that God notices and responds to how we feel.
God Loves Me by Kristin Wetherell — I have been eagerly awaiting this release. It fills an important gap by introducing God’s love and the Trinity in a way accessible to children under four.
God Made All Your Feelings by Amanda Flinn — This book thoughtfully connects emotions to God’s response in Scripture. I find it helpful not only for children, but for my own heart as a parent.
When Sadness Is at Your Door by Eva Eland — I love how this story invites children to notice sadness rather than ignore it. It creates space to evaluate feelings and decide what to do with them. Finn also wrote “Where Happiness Begins” that encourages children to look for happiness when it’s hard to find.
Why Books Like These Matter
Toddlers experience emotions before they understand them. When we give children stories that name feelings and hold them with care, we teach them that emotions are part of how God made them. We show them that God welcomes their whole heart.
If you want more ways to support emotional awareness and faith formation with your 0–3 year old, check out our Monthly Menus theme for February: God Created Us With Emotions. It offers simple activities, prayers, and rhythms to help children experience God’s care in everyday life.
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