Chin Up

For sadness is normal, it comes and it goes. Just like the ocean, it ebbs and it flows.

Some days, you can’t stop from crying. Maybe you even want to disappear. We often feel embarrassed when someone notices us feeling sad. We might even put on a fake smile to hide the way we really feel. But did you know that everyone feels sad sometimes?

Sadness is a very special emotion. It helps us to listen to our hearts. It helps us to understand what is happening in our lives. And it helps us to connect with others in a kind and truthful way. It can be hard to talk about our sadness, but with practice, you will feel stronger, and you will even be able to help other people when they are feeling sad.

In this heartfelt book, Naomi Firestone reaches out to children, encouraging them to connect with their experience of sadness. Too often, sadness is pushed aside as a “bad” or “shameful” emotion, overlooking its natural potential to heal our hearts and connect us with others. With its encouraging rhymes and endearing illustrations, “Chin Up” provides children with lyrical and visual lessons to add to their toolbox so they will know what to do when sadness arises. They will feel reassured in the validity of their feelings, and they will be better prepared for navigating the up and downs of life, allowing sadness—among other emotions—to come and go.