At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, after the initial novelty of working from home and online meetings had worn off, adults found an outlet for their frustration through endless loaves of banana bread and podcasts. But did children have something similar to express the way their lives had suddenly changed?

Garima Gupta, a Delhi-based artist and bookmaker, realised children suffered silently because they didn’t have the words to articulate their feelings, and parents weren’t doing much except asking children to simply “brush it off!”

Acknowledging emotions

It was then that the idea for Tara Goes Aahhh was born. This is the first book from UnStuck, a mental health picture book series from HarperCollins Children’s Books. This elaborate, wordless, pop-up book shows a young girl, Tara, getting up in the middle of the night because her toy dinosaur is thirsty and could use a drink. But it is dark, she can hear dogs barking, and the shadows are playing with her mind. Tara now needs to face her fears and find a way to make the dark a little less terrifying.

“The UnStuck series is designed to help young readers identify their emotions, locate them within their bodies, and understand that it is possible to move through feelings of fear, anxiety, rage, and loneliness. These books don’t lecture or label – they invite reflection through interaction, visual storytelling, and emotional nuance”, says Garima Gupta.

When Leela Menon and her family relocated from Bengaluru to Mumbai, her seven-year-old daughter Karuna was overwhelmed. She was surrounded by new faces in a new school and missed the comfort of friends and family. She was afraid to even go to the playground and make new friends. Leela began reading Braver Than Brave by Janet Summer Johnson, a picture book that helps children face fears and understand that there are many types of “Brave”. Leela says the book helped Karuna immensely because it offered ways to start a conversation about facing her fears.

There are so many reasons to love picture books, but helping children deal with their feelings and emotions may well be right up there.

A family favourite and one of the books read often in my home is The Monster Who Couldn’t Climb A Tree by Tanya Majmudar, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe and published by Kalpavriksh Books. This is a lovely story about a little boy, Avi, who is angry and overwhelmed that his parents have adopted a little girl. Every time he gets angry, he retreats to his favourite Borsali tree to seek comfort because he realises his rage cannot climb up the tree with him.

Indian children’s literature has always had a wealth of picture books with underlying themes that address issues like bullying, anger, or even coping with the loss of a loved one. But recently, publishers have decided the time is ripe to launch imprints that solely publish books to help address the emotional well-being of children.

Woodpecker Books, a new imprint of Wilco Publishers, has two 20-book box sets titled My Feelings and Manners series and My Behaviour and Emotions series. Shaped from thoughtful research, these aren’t just stories; they reflect real situations children go through. “Our stories are rooted in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and designed to support a child’s emotional development in everyday, relatable ways. The stories are designed to help manage emotions, navigate friendships, and understand identity. What makes Woodpecker Books different is how seamlessly Social and Emotional learning is woven into the storytelling. Children don’t just read our books – they find themselves in them, learn through them, and carry those lessons into their daily lives”, says founder and publishing director of Woodpecker Books, Natasha Shah Bammi.

Woodpecker books have titles like Encouraging Confidence and Learning Not to Be Shy, Dealing with Disappointment and Learning to Carry On, I’m Anxious, and It’s Mine, among others. Featuring young human or animal characters in situations similar to ones children find themselves in these days, the story states the problem and shows how the character overcomes their problems with the help of their friends and emerges stronger by the end of the book. The problem and the solution become the entire story, not an underlying theme.

Finding a voice

“I kept asking myself: how can we equip children from an early age to recognise, name, and process big feelings – so they don’t carry emotional burdens into adulthood like many in previous generations have? While our roots are in India, our vision is global. We want to create a world where every child can access stories that help them understand themselves and others,” says Bammi.

And it isn’t just fiction. Over the summer, HarperCollins Children’s Books released a set of three books called Wellbeing for Kids: Making Kids Smarter, Happier. Designed like a workbook with tools, activities, and exercises, these books are perfect to use at home or at school. They cover a wide range of issues, from learning to acknowledge other people’s feelings to overcoming anxiety caused by climate change, offering interesting exercises children will want to do.

In a world where children are often told to “toughen up” or “stop overreacting,” these books offer something far more valuable – tools to name, navigate, and normalise emotions. Whether it’s a pop-up adventure in the dark, a gentle nudge towards bravery, or a quiet reminder that even anger can be tamed, the right story can help a child feel seen and understood. And as one parent told me, “I probably would turn to a book in case I feel lost for words or am unsure of the best way to go about a particular situation.” In many ways, that is the quiet magic of children’s literature – it speaks for us when we can’t, and teaches our children to find their voices in the process.

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