Shinsuke Yoshitake’s books are always a treat to look forward to, beloved by adults and children alike, for the inimitable illustration style and inventive, philosophical texts which prompt us to think more deeply, more imaginatively about the world around us.

‘Why Do I Feel Like This?’ looks at where our bad, mad, sad feelings come from and what we can do to make them go away. As all the options are investigated, there is no shying away from darker impulses, such as “I wish they’d trip over a rock and hurt themselves”, counter-acted by thoughts such as “Hating people doesn’t feel good”. A range of coping mechanisms are explored, such as distracting yourself, talking your problems through and realising that everyone feels this way sometimes.

There are no easy answers here though, this is by no means a child’s self help book. It is a witty, relatable exploration of negative thoughts that asks many more questions than it answers, allowing the reader space to draw conclusions for themselves.

I would use ‘Why Do I Feel Like This?’ with children throughout the primary school age range, knowing that each time they return to it they will see more, get more, from the story as their own emotional understanding develops. Simply wonderful.