Talking to children about matters of the heart can be complicated. If your kids are anything like mine, they get totally confused because the heart can do wayyyyy too many things. After all, it can fill with joy or break with sadness, swell with pride or even be given away. It can grow, it can melt, it can open and close. It can shatter, it can puddle, it races fast and then slows. No wonder they don’t understand! These metaphors are challenging to comprehend— and to a literal child, they can seem totally nonsensical. Leave it to Corinna Luyken, an author/illustrator whose work has blown me away over the last couple of years, to give us My Heart, the perfect picture book to gently address the heart’s complexity with kids.
In My Heart, each page is a metaphor for the heart’s various manifestations. As the diverse group of kids journey through the heart’s numerous emotions, they learn it can be a puddle or a slide or a window opened wide. The children are happy at times and scared at others, remorseful on some pages and joyful on others. When faced with a tough emotion, they find companionship in family and friends to help them through. And overall, they learn one very important notion: whether their hearts are open or closed, tiny or large, each and every child has the freedom to decide how he or she feels at a particular time. My Heart conveys a powerful message, one that helps children discover their strength and unlock their inner resilience.
My Heart is exquisite, though and through. Luyken’s illustrations are shadowy and vibrant at the same time. Shades of grey shot through with bright yellow perfectly represent the heart’s many phases, bringing hope to the wounded heart and light to the dark one. They set the tone so beautifully for a book that speaks to emotional awareness, and, when paired with the simple (but brilliant) prose, convey a message that we get to decide how our heart feels at any given moment. The book is contemplative yet dynamic, subtle yet empowering, ultimately conveying the most reassuring message: “tiny can grow and broken can mend / and a heart that is closed can still open again.” Sensitive, stunning and simply spectacular. Two trunks up for this beauty!
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Want the book? Get it here! My Heart, by Corinna Luyken. *This is an affiliate link. HEE received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher, but all opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.
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