A Southport author has published her new book, which aims to support children experiencing a range of emotions.
Sarah J.H has released Little Hurts, Big Feelings with the book available on Amazon: Little Hurts, Big Feelings: Amazon.co.uk: J.H, Sarah: 9798170411771: Books
It is a follow-up to her previous work, Tiny Scars, Big Lessons.
Little Hurts, Big Feelings is a gentle, interactive guide to help children explore big emotions in a safe, comforting way.
Written for children ages 5–12, this heartfelt book helps young readers name their feelings, understand where emotions live in the body, and discover that they are never alone — even when words are hard to find.
Through simple, comforting language, a Feelings Wheel, check-in pages, and reflective prompts (draw, circle, or say it out loud), children are given permission to feel without judgment, pressure, or the need to explain everything.
Sarah said: “I wrote from the perspective of an adult looking back.
“It’s about childhood experiences, trauma, the scars we can carry with us and the lessons I have learnt while trying to understand and heal from my own past.
“But as I wrote it, one thought kept coming back to me: What about the child who is still living through the big feelings right now?
“What about the child who doesn’t understand why their tummy suddenly hurts when they’re worried?
“The child who becomes angry when they’re actually frightened.
“The child who cries but can’t explain why.
“Or the child who goes into school, smiles, completes their work and appears absolutely fine — while inside, they are struggling.
“That is where Little Hurts, Big Feelings began.
“This is the children’s companion to Tiny Scars, Big Lessons.
“I see Little Hurts, Big Feelings as a follow-on from Tiny Scars, Big Lessons, but written with children in mind.
“My adult book looks back at the scars childhood experiences can leave behind. This book is about reaching children earlier and helping them understand that their emotions aren’t something to be ashamed of.
“Children don’t always have adult words for their feelings.
“They might not say, ‘I’m experiencing anxiety.’
“They might say, ‘My tummy hurts.’
“They might not know how to explain that something has frightened or overwhelmed them. “Instead, it might come out through tears, anger, withdrawal, difficulty sleeping or changes in their behaviour.
“Sometimes the hurt might seem little to an adult.
“But to a child, the feeling can be enormous.
“That’s why I called it Little Hurts, Big Feelings.”
Living in Southport has made Sarah feel this book is even more important.
She said: “Southport is my hometown, so the events of July 2024 have affected me personally, as they have affected so many people across the community.
“The loss of the three girls, and the injuries suffered by other children, left families and the wider community facing unimaginable grief and shock. In the months since, many people have also had to think carefully about how children understand and respond to frightening events.
“That experience strengthened my belief that children need safe, age-appropriate ways to recognise and express difficult emotions. They may not know how to describe fear, sadness or confusion, and the adults supporting them may not always know how to begin the conversation.
“‘Little Hurts, Big Feelings’ was created to offer a gentle starting point: a way for a child and trusted adult to explore feelings together, without pressure to find perfect words or immediate answers.
“It is not a replacement for counselling or professional support, but it may help open a door. A parent, teacher or carer might use a page, question or activity to reassure a child that their feelings are valid and that they do not have to face them alone.
“Guidance for supporting children through bereavement similarly emphasises allowing children to express their feelings, being led by the child rather than pressuring them to talk, maintaining reassuring routines and creating a safe space for all emotions.
“Sometimes children need us to notice
“This message also comes from my own childhood.
“I know what it feels like to be the child who looks okay.
“I went to school. I did my work. I tried to be a good student.
“But underneath that was a child carrying anxiety, fear and experiences that I didn’t have the language to properly explain.
“Looking back now, one of the things I remember wanting most was for somebody to notice.
“Not necessarily to have all the answers.
“Just to ask:
“‘Are you okay?’
“That experience has stayed with me, and it is part of the reason I care so deeply about children’s emotional wellbeing.
“Children communicate in so many different ways, and sometimes behaviour is the only language available to them.
“A book for children — but also for the adults beside them
“Although Little Hurts, Big Feelings is created for children, part of its purpose is to help the adults sitting beside them too.
“Because parents don’t always have the answers.
“Teachers don’t always know the perfect question.
“Carers can worry about saying the wrong thing.
“Sometimes you just need something that opens the door.
“A page.
“An activity.
“A question.
“A picture.
“A sentence that makes a child say:
“‘That’s how I feel.’
“And suddenly there is somewhere to begin.
“I want children to learn that sadness isn’t naughty. Anger doesn’t make them a bad child. Fear isn’t weakness. Crying isn’t something to be embarrassed about.
“And asking for help is something they should always be allowed to do.
“Turning my own scars into something that might help somebody else
“I cannot change what happened during my childhood.
“I cannot undo the pain experienced by families and the Southport community.
“None of us can take away every difficult experience a child will face.
“But perhaps we can become better at helping children understand what happens inside them when life hurts.
“Tiny Scars, Big Lessons was about understanding the scars I carried into adulthood.
“Little Hurts, Big Feelings is about trying to give children some of those emotional tools before they grow up.
“If this book helps one parent start a conversation they didn’t know how to start, that’s something.
“If it helps one teacher notice that the quiet child might need checking in on, that’s something.
“And if one child turns a page, recognises themselves and finally finds the words to say: ‘This is how I’m feeling’ then that is exactly why I wrote it.
“I grew up in Southport, and when I look back at the little girl I was, one thing stands out to me more than anything else:
“I looked fine. But I wasn’t.
“I was the child who went to school, got on with her work and carried on. I smiled. I tried my best. I learnt from a very young age how to appear okay, even when what I was feeling inside was anything but okay.
“My childhood wasn’t the easiest. There were things happening around me that no child should have to make sense of, and feelings inside me that I simply didn’t have the words to explain.
“But even then, I remember knowing that I wanted more.
“I didn’t know exactly what “more” looked like. I just knew that I wanted a different life from the one I was experiencing. I wanted to feel safe. I wanted a future that felt different. And somehow, that little bit of hope stayed with me.
“So I kept going.
“And from the outside, I probably looked like a child who was coping.
“That’s something I understand very differently now.
“A child can smile and still be hurting.
“A child can achieve and still be struggling.
“A child can behave beautifully and still be frightened.
“A child can say “I’m fine” because they don’t yet have the words to say anything else.
“I know that because I was that child.
“It wasn’t until adulthood, and particularly through counselling, that I began finding the language for some of the things I had experienced and the emotions I had carried with me for years.
“Suddenly, feelings I couldn’t explain as a child started to have names.
“And I think there is something incredibly sad about having to reach adulthood before you can finally understand what the child you once were was trying so hard to communicate.
“That realisation has become a huge part of why I care so deeply about children’s emotional wellbeing and why I wanted to write Little Hurts, Big Feelings.
“Working with children has only strengthened that belief. Distress doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Some children become angry. Some withdraw. Some seek constant reassurance. And some become incredibly good at carrying on as though everything is okay.
“Sometimes we need to look beyond the behaviour and ask ourselves what that child might be trying to tell us.
“With Little Hurts, Big Feelings, I want to give children something I didn’t have when I was young: words for what is happening inside them.
“I want children to know that they don’t need the perfect words to ask for help. I want them to understand that their feelings matter, that they are allowed to talk about them and that there should always be a safe adult willing to listen.
“And I want the adults reading it alongside them to remember that the child who appears to be coping may sometimes be the child who most needs somebody to gently ask: ‘Are you really okay?’
“Because if my own childhood has taught me anything, it is this:
“Children shouldn’t have to become adults before they finally find the words for what happened to them.”
For more details visit Little Hurts, Big Feelings on Instagram: (1) Instagram
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