“Dear Me: Letters to Myself, For All of My Emotions” by Donna Tetreault

• 02/19/2022
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Dear Me: Letters to Myself, For All of My Emotions

Donna Tetreault (author) Elisena Bonadio (illustrator)
Independently Published (2021)
ISBN: 978-1-7364798-0-3
Reviewed by Lydia (age 7) for Reader Views Kids (02/2022)

“Dear Me: Letters to Myself, For All of My Emotions” by Donna Tetreault is the story of how it is okay to feel different emotions and not be happy all of the time. In the beginning, the boy in the book doesn’t know this, but his mom tells him that it is okay for him to feel lots of emotions at different times. The boy decides to write in a journal all of the ways that he feels when doing things. The boy notices that he feels kind toward a friend, scared at school, angry during pictures, and peaceful when raining. The boy keeps all of his journal entries to remember and teach other people that it is okay to feel these different ways and not that we have to feel one way all of the time.

I like “Dear Me” because the boy figured out his emotions and was happy in the end because of that. I like how he wrote his journal entries; they were like letters to himself that explained the rest of the story on the page before. I was surprised at how many emotions there are! I feel better after reading this book; I will feel different ways at different times, and it’s okay! “Dear Me” is a good book for kids of all ages, especially those who are afraid to feel any specific way.

A Note from Mom: I appreciate that “Dear Me” is written by a parenting and social-emotional concepts professional. While there is so much to being a parent, having a way to teach children about their emotions is a solid foundation for parenting. Tetreault presents this topic in a child-friendly way. I feel that this understanding of our inner selves will help raise a self-aware future generation. I recommend this book to parents who have kids who get easily frustrated with their feelings to help them understand themselves better.