How to Help Kids Navigate Strong Emotions with Art

Our picture book Marley's Pride tells the story of a young nonbinary kid named Marley, who struggles with big anxieties—especially around crowds and loud noises. But when their beloved grandparent, Zaza, is up for an award at Pride, Marley decides they want to attend the parade for the first time. As the event approaches, Marley’s nerves begin to build, and they use some anxiety management techniques to help them cope.

By the time the parade arrives, Marley finds joy in the vibrant atmosphere. The community at Pride welcomes Marley with open arms, celebrating their identity. After watching their Zaza speak to the crowd, Marley expresses a deep sense of pride in being part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Kirkus Reviews calls Marley's Pride “joyfully affirming,” and Booklist praises it as a picture book that “gets it right,” engaging young readers with Marley’s journey of managing anxiety and finding their people. Illustrating how a young kid navigates their big emotions, our book makes it clear that such feelings are a normal part of growing up. By portraying Marley’s struggles with anxiety, this story helps children understand that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. It also emphasizes how we can make managing these emotions easier by using tools and techniques that help us understand our feelings better.

In recent years, youth mental health has been worsening, and the Covid-19 pandemic made the situation even more severe. An increasing number of kids today struggle with anxiety and depression due to factors outside of their control. Stories like Marley’s draw attention to mental health, validate big feelings and show children how they might approach regulating their emotions.

Marley uses a few different techniques to manage their anxiety, such as meditation and playing with a fidget spinner. In addition to these methods, creative expression through visual art is an effective and accessible tool for navigating big emotions.

Creating art to express thoughts and feelings is an excellent mindfulness exercise. It boosts self-awareness, engages both the mind and the body to help us stay present and reduces stress.

In this activity, take a stab at drawing strong emotions.

Materials Needed:

• Paper
• Colored pencils or markers

Steps:

1. Gather your materials and then find a quiet, comfy spot where you can relax and focus on your drawing.
2. Close your eyes and think about a time where you felt really anxious. Picture that feeling in your mind.
3. Now, open your eyes and draw what that feeling looks like. You can use different colors, shapes, and techniques. Maybe your anxiety feels like a big, dark cloud or lots of squiggly lines. There’s no right or wrong way to draw your feelings!
4. If you want, you can repeat steps 2-3 for different emotions. Draw a positive emotion, like the feeling of calm.
5. Now, it’s time to reflect. Why did you draw what you did? Does it help to express those emotions in this way?

Drawing emotions can help us see them in a new way and learn more about ourselves. Remember that your emotions are important and it’s ok to express them!

To further support kids in navigating their emotions, we’ve created an educator resource to accompany Marley's Pride. This guide is filled with thought-provoking questions that encourage kids to reflect on Marley’s journey and their own feelings. Questions like “What happens when Marley arrives at the parade?”, “What helps them in that moment?”, and “What would you do in this situation?” help kids connect with the story on a deeper level. We’ve also included a fun coloring page, giving kids an opportunity to express their creativity while engaging with themes from the book. Perfect for the classroom, this resource is designed to make Marley's Pride an even more impactful experience.

Download the Activity Pack!

About the Book