All My Feelings at Home
Susan Levine Friedman
All My Feelings at Home
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
Ellie's Day
by Susan Levine Friedman
Illustrated by M. Kathryn Smith
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes.
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About This Book
Here’s a little secret: everyone, even you, has a whirlwind of feelings swirling inside. Ellie’s got excitement, sadness, worry, and even feeling left out—all at once. But learning how to name and handle these feelings? That’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This gently illustrated story follows Ellie, a young child experiencing a range of common emotions like excitement, sadness, and worry. It encourages children aged 9-12 to recognize and talk about their feelings, distinguishing emotions from actions, and offers practical ways to cope. The book serves as a helpful tool for parents and teachers to facilitate open, nonjudgmental discussions about emotional health.
Why we rated All My Feelings at Home 9C
All My Feelings at Home is written at a Level 4-5 reading level. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, All My Feelings at Home works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate All My Feelings at Home as 9C ("Clear") because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Fear & Anxiety.
Thematically, All My Feelings at Home explores emotional literacy, family, friendship, and coming of age — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about emotional literacy, family, friendship.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic "gifted kid" mismatch.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9C — ClearNo conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.
Content Flags
Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
- ISBN
- 9780613987080
- Publisher
- Tandem Library
- Published
- January 1989
- Type
- Fiction