Lily the Little Fox Finds Her Feelings

Lily the Fox wakes up feeling 'grey' and set off through the forest to figure out why. Along the way, she encounters different natural phenomena that mirror her internal states: a bright sunny clearing (joy), a prickly bramble patch (frustration), and a dark cave (fear). By the end, she realizes that like the weather in the forest, her feelings change, and she has the power to name them. SENSITIVE TOPICS: The book is entirely secular and metaphorical. It deals with emotional regulation and self-identity in a very safe, gentle way. There are no heavy traumas, making it a low-risk choice for sensitive souls. EMOTIONAL ARC: The story begins with a sense of confusion and mild melancholy (the grey feeling). It moves through peaks of high energy (joy/anger) and dips of quiet (fear/sadness) before resolving into a calm, empowered state of self-awareness. IDEAL READER: A 4-year-old who is starting to experience 'toddler rage' or a 6-year-old who is prone to 'perfectionist' meltdowns and needs to see that being upset is natural. PARENT TRIGGER: You might pick this up after your child has a 'mysterious' meltdown over something small, like a broken cracker or a lost toy, signaling that they are struggling with an emotional backlog they can't express. PARENT PREP: This book is best read when both parent and child are calm. It can be read cold, but parents should be ready to pause on the 'Anger' page to ask what that feeling looks like for their own child. AGE EXPERIENCE: Toddlers will focus on the vibrant colors and animal characters. School-aged children (5-7) will better grasp the metaphors and can begin to apply Lily's 'naming' technique to their own school day. DIFFERENTIATOR: Unlike many 'feelings' books that focus on behavior, Bloom focuses on the somatic and environmental feeling of emotions, using nature as a powerful, non-judgmental mirror.