Faith-Based Books for Big Feelings

Big feelings aren't bad — they are God-given clues to guide our path forward in difficult situations.

Every feeling has a helpful job to do — and gentle, faith-filled stories help children ages 4–8 notice, name, and choose what to do with theirs, one feeling at a time.

The Sleuth Method

How the Feelings Sleuths work

Children feel things long before they can name them. A four-year-old who says "I don't want to" may mean nervous, or left out, or tired of being the smallest person in the room. Without the words, it comes out as a slammed door.

"We notice. We name. We prayerfully choose."

1

We Notice

Every big feeling starts in the body. Kids learn to spot the clues — a racing heart, wobbly "spaghetti" legs, a rock in the tummy.

2

We Name

Feelings aren't mistakes — they're messages. Using the clues and the Feelings Map, children name the feeling.

3

We Prayerfully Choose

With the feeling named, children ask God what to do about it — and choose the next step in a way that pleases Him.

The Series

Where the Feelings Sleuths begin

Two books are out now: Book One, the story that started it all and teaches a child how to be a sleuth, and Book Two, a brand-new feeling mystery.

Cover of Am I a Bad Kid? by Cynthia Spellman, MD

Book One Guilt · Notice, Name & Choose

Am I a Bad Kid?

A Christian Story That Helps Children Notice and Name Guilt and Prayerfully Choose What to Do Next

It started with a silly chicken dance in the snow. Josh made fun of Grandpa — and now there's a heavy rock in his tummy that won't go away.

What is this feeling? Why won't it leave? And does it mean Josh is bad?

His big sister Mia knows a secret. In her favorite storybook, a group of kids called the Feelings Sleuths solve feeling mysteries with three simple steps: Notice, Name, and Choose. With a magnifying glass, a Big Feelings Map, and a Secret Song, Josh sets out to crack the case of the rock in his tummy.

But naming the feeling is only half the mystery. What should Josh do next? And how can he know what God wants?

Josh's way of choosing is rooted in Scripture and made simple for young children: ask God for wisdom (James 1:5), picture each choice in prayer, and follow where His peace leads (Colossians 3:15). It also draws from the writings of Ignatius of Loyola, who taught many people over the centuries how to discern God's voice in prayer.

As children follow along, they learn the same steps for their own big feelings, so the next time guilt shows up, they'll know what to do.

This is the story of how the Feelings Sleuths began.

Inside you'll find:

A warm, funny story families will want to read again and again
The Secret Song to help children remember the steps
The Big Feelings Map and the Secret Steps chart to use at home

Written and illustrated by Cynthia Spellman, MD, a practicing board-certified psychiatrist who helps adults work through difficult feelings, including those they've carried since childhood. Drawing on her training in art, she writes and illustrates picture books that introduce children to her Notice, Name, and Choose approach — helping them understand their feelings and prayerfully discern what God wants them to do. Through warm family stories, she shares a reassuring message: a big feeling doesn't mean “I'm bad.” It's a clue to explore with compassion, curiosity, and God's help.

Ages 4–8 · Paperback

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Cover of My Knees Won't Stop Wobbling! by Cynthia Spellman, MD

Book Two Anxiety · Notice, Name & Choose

My Knees Won't Stop Wobbling!

A Christian Story That Helps Kids Learn How To Manage Anxiety and Stage Fright

Her heart is racing. Her face is hot. And her knees won't stop wobbling.

Tessa just found out she'll play Miriam in the big Exodus play. Singing. Dancing. On a stage. In front of everyone.

What if she forgets her lines? What if everyone laughs?

Part of her wants to quit. But a wise grandpa, a big sister with a Secret Song, and a map of big feelings are about to show Tessa something surprising: the wobble in her knees isn't a problem to get rid of. It's a clue, and it has a job to do.

Will Tessa step onto the stage?

Join the Feelings Sleuths on their second adventure and learn three simple steps for any big feeling: Notice, Name, and Choose.

Written and illustrated by Cynthia Spellman, MD, a psychiatrist and grandmother of six, and the author and illustrator of Am I a Bad Kid? Sing the Secret Song at feelingssleuths.com/song.

Ages 4–8 · Paperback

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The Origin Story

Why the rock came first

Every series starts somewhere. The Feelings Sleuths started here, with a rock in a boy's tummy — and not by accident.

Guilt is the feeling that teaches the whole method. It's loud in the body, so a child can actually find it. It's stubborn enough that ignoring it doesn't work — Josh tries, and the rock only gets heavier. And it points somewhere: guilt isn't God telling a child he's bad, it's a nudge that something needs mending. That distinction is the hinge the entire series turns on. A child who learns to read one uncomfortable feeling correctly has learned what every book after this one will ask of them: feelings aren't misbehavior to be scolded away, they're clues worth following.

So this is the book where a child becomes a sleuth for the first time. Josh notices the rock. He names it. And then, with God's help, he prayerfully chooses what to do about it — the sorry, and the making-it-right that comes after the sorry. Notice, Name, Choose is never explained to him. He lives it, one clue at a time, and the reader learns it right alongside him.

That's why every Feelings Sleuths book that follows can begin already in motion. The rock did the teaching. The next feeling only has to be noticed.

"We notice. We name. We prayerfully choose."

More feelings are on the way — each one a new clue, and a new story.

Sing

The Feelings Sleuths' Secret Song

Big feeling inside? Here's the secret song about how God helps. Listen the first time through, then it's your turn: sing it all together the second time! The words light up as they're sung.

Sense my body, head to toe, Notice thoughts that come and go. Notice what I want to do, Each one’s an important clue. Name my feeling on the map, Learn its job in just a snap. Then I pray, “What should I do? Help me to be more like You.” Watch each choice play like a show, Picture where each choice could go. Which brings peace and kindness, too? Choose what God wants me to do.

1 Notice2 Name3 Choose

Lyrics by Cynthia Spellman, MD. The music, vocals and spoken introduction were created with AI from the author’s words. The Big Feelings Map and Secret Steps chart are in the back of the book.

Guilt’s a Feeling Inside Me

A sing-along about guilt from Am I a Bad Kid?

Guilt’s a feeling inside me, It’s as heavy as can be. When I’ve done what’s not so kind, Guilt is there to help remind Me to fix and make it right, And help me feel God’s delight.

Lyrics by Cynthia Spellman, MD. The music and vocals were created with AI from the author’s words. The painting of Jesus is an original oil painting by the author.

For Grown-Ups

How families use them

The book does the introducing, so you don't have to start the conversation cold.

Read it before you need it

The story lands best when nobody's in trouble. Read it on an ordinary night, and the words are already there for the hard afternoon later.

Read it together

The story gives you an opening. Nobody has to be put on the spot, and the child gets to meet the feeling from a safe distance first.

Use the words later

This is the part that lasts. When the rock turns up at the dinner table, you both already have a name for it — and a next step.

Cynthia Spellman, MD

About the Author

Cynthia Spellman, MD

Adult psychiatrist & author–illustrator

I'm a psychiatrist. I spend my days with adults who are learning, at thirty-five or sixty, to notice what they're feeling and say it out loud.

It's good work. It's also slower than it needed to be. Again and again I've thought: this would have been easier at six.

So I started writing the books I wished my patients had been read as children. They're short, they're for reading at bedtime, and they don't try to fix anything. They just give a child words — and give the grown-up next to them somewhere to start.

— Cynthia Spellman, MD, practicing in New York and New Jersey