Helping Kids Understand Big Feelings Through Story time: Why I Love the Trailblazer Books
- Carolyn Watkins
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
In today’s fast-paced, digitally connected world, emotional intelligence (EQ) is one of the most important skills we can nurture in our children. As parents, educators, and caregivers, we’re constantly seeking meaningful ways to help children understand themselves, relate to others, and handle life’s ups and downs with resilience and empathy. One of the most powerful—and often overlooked—tools for building emotional intelligence is right at our fingertips: stories.
Not only do stories help students learn, but they also help students connect with others. https://sites.bu.edu/impact/previous-issues/impact-summer-2022/the-power-of-storytelling/
Stories are more than entertainment. They’re mirrors and windows: mirrors that reflect a child’s own emotions and experiences, and windows into the lives and feelings of others. Whether it's through a picture book about a shy child starting a new school, or a tale of a brave bunny learning to apologize, stories help children name their feelings, see different perspectives, and grow in emotional understanding.
At Trailblazer Books, this belief is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to create stories that help children build resilience, develop empathy, and understand themselves more deeply—one heartfelt page at a time.
Looking for books that build emotional resilience?
What Is Emotional Intelligence—and Why Does It Matter?
Before diving into how stories help, let’s take a moment to understand what emotional intelligence actually is.
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to:
Recognize and name one’s own emotions
Regulate emotions appropriately
Understand the feelings of others (empathy)
Build and maintain healthy relationships
Make responsible, compassionate decisions
For children, this translates into skills like:
Sharing and taking turns
Expressing feelings with words
Calming down after getting upset
Noticing when a friend is sad
Problem-solving when things go wrong
Research shows that kids with strong emotional intelligence tend to do better academically, have more positive relationships, and experience fewer mental health challenges. It’s a lifelong asset—and it starts early.
Why Are Stories So Effective in Teaching EQ?
Stories speak to the heart before the head. They bypass the pressure of “lessons” and offer a safe, engaging space for kids to explore emotions. Here’s why stories are such powerful emotional intelligence builders:
1. Stories Make Emotions Tangible
Children often struggle to name what they’re feeling. A character who’s nervous about the first day of school, angry about being left out, or excited about a new adventure helps children see their own emotions reflected back to them. They realize, “I’ve felt that too!” Naming an emotion is the first step in managing it.
2. Stories Build Empathy
When children step into a character’s shoes—even just for a few pages—they practice understanding another point of view. This is the heart of empathy. They begin to consider, “How does that character feel? Why did they act that way?” Over time, this carries over into real-life relationships.
3. Stories Offer Emotional Distance
Sometimes it’s hard to talk about big feelings directly, especially if a child is going through something tough—like moving, losing a pet, or dealing with friendship drama. A story creates emotional distance. It’s not about them—yet it is. They can engage with hard topics from a safe, supported space.
4. Stories Encourage Reflection
Great books naturally invite conversation. Children start asking questions, making predictions, relating the story to their own lives. “What would you have done?” “How would you feel if that happened to you?” These moments deepen emotional awareness and critical thinking.
5. Repetition Reinforces Learning
Young children love hearing the same story over and over—and that’s a good thing! Repeated exposure to emotional situations and vocabulary helps children internalize both the language and the strategies that characters use.
How to Use Stories to Foster Emotional Intelligence
You don’t need a degree in psychology to help your child build EQ through books. All it takes is intentional reading and gentle conversation. Here are some simple strategies that make a big impact:
1. Choose Emotionally Rich Books
Look for stories with well-developed characters who experience a range of emotions. Books that deal with topics like change, friendship, mistakes, courage, and kindness are especially helpful. Don’t shy away from stories that explore sadness, fear, or anger—these are natural parts of life, and learning to cope with them is essential.
Books like those in the Trailblazer Books collection are written with these moments in mind. Whether it’s a child adjusting to a big life change or finding the courage to embrace the unknown, our stories create space for kids to explore big feelings in safe, age-appropriate ways.
2. Pause to Talk About Feelings
While reading, take a moment to ask questions like:
“How do you think she’s feeling right now?”
“Why do you think he said that?”
“What would you do if you were in that situation?”
You don’t need to quiz your child—just open the door for discussion. These little moments help children tune into emotions and reflect on behavior.
3. Model Emotional Vocabulary
Use stories as a springboard to introduce or reinforce emotion words like frustrated, excited, embarrassed, or proud. For example: “It looks like Max is feeling overwhelmed. That means he has too many feelings at once and doesn’t know what to do.”
Over time, children begin to adopt this language in their own lives—and that’s a powerful tool for self-expression.
4. Relate the Story to Real Life
After finishing a book, try connecting it to your child’s experiences:
“That reminds me of when you felt nervous before your recital.”
“Remember when your friend was upset? You comforted them just like the character did!”
These connections make the lessons more memorable and meaningful.
5. Encourage Storytelling
Invite children to tell their own stories—real or imagined. “Can you think of a time you felt the same way?” or “Can you make up a story about a penguin who was afraid to swim?” Storytelling helps kids process emotions creatively and practice empathy in new ways.
6. Revisit Books After Big Emotions
When your child has had a tough day or is working through a particular emotion, you can revisit stories that relate. “Let’s read that book about the little girl who didn’t want to move again. I wonder what we can learn this time.” Books like I Don’t Want to Move! from the Trailblazer Books series were written for exactly these moments.
Stories help us cope.
We make sense of our life experiences in part by the stories we learn or tell ourselves.
Books That Build Emotional Intelligence
There are countless wonderful books that help children grow in emotional understanding. Here are just a few that touch on core EQ skills—along with selections from Trailblazer Books designed with emotional growth in mind.
On Naming and Expressing Emotions
The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang
Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda
On Empathy and Kindness
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
On Change and Resilience
I Don’t Want to Move! by Carolyn Watkins from the Trailblazer Books collection, this award-winning picture book gently guides children through the emotions that come with leaving behind the familiar. It helps validate sadness, encourage openness, and offer hope.
Tomorrow’s Trailblazer by Carolyn Watkins, another powerful entry in the Trailblazer Books series, this story reassures children that it’s okay to feel unsure about the future—and inspires them to take brave steps forward, even when they don’t have all the answers.
On Friendship and Inclusion
Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Friendship Wins by Carolyn Watkins. The newest addition ( coming out soon) to the Trailblazer Books series, Friendship Wins explores inclusion and understanding through a story of connection and horseback riding. It gently introduces physical disabilities and helps children see ability through a lens of kindness and shared passions.
The Role of Grown-Ups: Read, Reflect, Relate
Reading alone is powerful—but it’s even more impactful when paired with adult support. When we read with children, we’re not just teaching them how to decode words—we’re teaching them how to decode life.
As adults, we can:
Model emotional openness (“That story made me feel teary—it reminded me of something important.”)
Validate children’s feelings without rushing to fix them
Praise emotional insight (“You noticed your sister was sad. That was so thoughtful.”)
Use story moments to spark meaningful conversations
Even 10 minutes of shared reading a day can plant seeds that grow into a lifetime of emotional awareness.
Final Thoughts: Why It Matters More Than Ever
In a world filled with noise, screens, and constant stimulation, children need stories more than ever. They need quiet moments to reflect, connect, and understand. They need characters who show them how to be brave, kind, and real. They need to hear, again and again, that it’s okay to feel—and that they’re not alone.
At Trailblazer Books, we believe in the power of stories to light the path for children—to help them face big emotions, grow through change, and walk with empathy and courage. Because emotional intelligence isn’t taught in a single conversation—it’s nurtured, page by page, heart to heart.
So the next time you curl up with your child and a good book, remember: you’re doing so much more than reading. You’re building emotional resilience, one story at a time.
Emotion plays a pivotal role in the learning process, and storytelling has a remarkable ability to evoke emotions that deepen our engagement with educational content.
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