When Sadness is at Your Door

Sadness can be an overwhelming and confusing emotion for a child, but with simple illustrations and thoughtful suggestions for overcoming it, this story touches on this timely and relevant topic in today’s world. The images convey mood and emotion, while the story itself presents what sadness might look like and offers healthy self-care strategies to move away from the emotion. Suitable for students in Grade K–5, “When Sadness is at Your Door” can extend to in-class discussions and reflections on students’ experiences with sadness. Teachers may want to extend into writing activities in the form of an emotions journal or fictional story writing. Additionally, the book’s image of sadness being a green-toned creature that can be befriended and understood can invite an exploration of how emotions can be symbolized.