For the meltdown you did not see coming.
A printable calm-down corner your child can actually use — a feelings wheel to point at, 24 strategy cards, and the words to say when you have run out of them.
Get the free kit- Instant downloadFiles land in your inbox the moment you pay.
- Print as often as you likeUS Letter PDF on plain paper, for your own family.
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- 30-day refundsNot right? Tell us and we fix it or refund you.
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No app. No login. No subscription.
Download the PDF and it is yours.
Starts in the middle of the meltdown.
Get the free kitStart with the hard part
Pick the moment you're dealing with. Each one has its own book or kit.
Big feelings, all at onceThe Calm-Down Kit4.8· 1,882 reviewsFree + $4.95 handling
Everyday life skillsKids Life Skills4.8· 3,200 reviews$19
AngerRosa's Volcano Day4.8· 1,600 reviews$12
KindnessThe Day Kai Noticed5.0· 1,300 reviews$12
Giving upEli Can’t Do It — Yet5.0· 2,485 reviews$12
Personal spaceMy Bubble, Your Bubble4.8· 1,400 reviews$12
Body safetyMy Body Safety Rules5.0· 1,893 reviews$14
BedtimeBedtime Without the Battle4.8· 1,655 reviews$9
MorningsMornings That Don't Start With Shouting4.8· 1,384 reviews$9
Made to be printed, and used
A page your child can hold works differently from a screen. It's there in the moment, without anyone reaching for a phone.
Illustrative photographs of the printed pages, not customer photos.
On the rug
Printed at home, so a book can live wherever the reading happens — and be printed again when it's been loved to pieces.
On the fridge
The rules posters and charts are made to be put up where everyone sees them every single morning.
In one classroom
Teachers can print copies for their own class. The license covers one classroom, for as long as you teach it.
How these work
Name it before you fix it
A feelings wheel gives a child who can't yet explain what's wrong something to point at. Naming the feeling comes first; the calming comes after.
See the free kit
Pictures, not paragraphs
Twenty-four calm-down cards, one strategy each, drawn so a three-year-old in the middle of a meltdown can choose one without reading a word.
See the cards
A story that shows the skill
Each picture book follows one child through one hard feeling — anger, kindness, personal space, trying again — and shows what they do next.
See the books
Words for the grown-up too
Every kit has a page of exact words for the parent. One set has sixty of them, for the moments when the right thing to say doesn't arrive on time.
What To Say cards
Print as often as you like
One purchase, printed as many times as you need for your own family or one classroom. US Letter, plain paper, fine in color or black and white.
License termsWho it's for
Printable picture books and kits for big feelings, ages 3–8
Bravesmall makes printable picture books, calm-down kits and routine charts that help young children name big feelings, calm down, and get through the hard parts of the day, and give the grown-ups the exact words to say.
Parents of 3–8 year olds
Meltdowns, anger, bedtime battles, rushed mornings and the words to use in the moment.
Preschool and K–2 teachers
Calm-down corners, feelings words, personal space and kindness, licensed for one classroom.
School counselors
Picture books and cards for social-emotional learning, ready to print for a group.
Homeschool families
Life skills, routines and feelings pages to print again and again.
What they help with
- A child who can't explain what's wrong gets something to point at
- Calm-down strategies a three-year-old can choose without reading
- Exact words for the grown-up, for the moments the right thing doesn't arrive on time
- Picture routines a child follows on their own, so you stop repeating yourself
- Body-safety rules taught calmly, the way you'd teach road safety
- Printed at home tonight, no app, no screen, no subscription
Built on research, not guesswork
Before a page is drawn, we read what child psychologists, pediatricians and early-childhood researchers have published on the topic: what works, what backfires, and what a child of that age can actually do. Each product page lists the sources it is built on, including:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Vanderbilt's Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (Pyramid Model)
- John Gottman's research on emotion coaching
- Carol Dweck's research on mindset and praise
- Ed Tronick's work on rupture and repair
- A randomized trial of the bedtime pass (Journal of Pediatric Psychology)
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- ZERO TO THREE, Stop It Now and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Every page is proofread at full size. Educational tools for everyday parenting, not therapy or medical advice. How we make them
How it compares
Printable kits and screen-based apps are built for different moments. Here is the difference.
| Feature | Bravesmall | Screen-based apps |
|---|---|---|
| Used away from a screen | Yes | No |
| Nothing to install, update or log in to | Yes | No |
| Your child can hold it, point at it, color it in | Yes | No |
| Print another copy for a sibling or a classroom | Yes | No |
| One payment, yours to keep | Yes | Varies |
| Instant download | Yes | Yes |
Trusted worldwide
35,000+
customers trust Bravesmall
Parents and teachers in every corner of the world print our books and kits at home, and keep coming back for the next one.
- Printed at kitchen tables everywhere
- Instant download, no shipping
- 30-day refund promise
Reviews
What parents are saying
Trusted by 35,000+ customers worldwide
4.8 out of 5 from 29,363 reviews
She pointed at the angry face instead of throwing her cup
My daughter is four and goes from zero to screaming in about a second. We put the wheel on the fridge and talked about the faces on a calm afternoon. Two days later, mid-meltdown, she walked over and jabbed the angry one. I nearly cried. It didn't stop the feeling, but it stopped the throwing.
"My volcano is rumbling" is now a sentence in our house
My six-year-old saw herself in Rosa immediately. The next week she came to me and said her volcano was rumbling — BEFORE she exploded. That had never happened. We filled in her volcano plan together and it's taped inside her bedroom door.
Grandma hugs are now asked for, and that's fine
My daughter hated being hugged by relatives and felt bad about it. The bubble idea gave her words for it — "my bubble is big today" — and the family actually respects it now. The page for grown-ups helped me explain it to my mom.
"I can't do it YET" — he says it himself now
My son gives up on everything the second it's hard. After this book he threw a puzzle down, stopped, and said "yet" under his breath. Then picked it back up. I've been trying to teach that for two years.
I'd been putting this talk off for a year
I didn't know how to start without scaring her. This made it easy — it's calm, matter-of-fact, and she thinks of it as a book about rules, like crossing the road. The poster is on our fridge.
Kindness without the preaching
It doesn't lecture. It shows small, doable things — moving over, holding a door — and my kids now point them out when they see them. The wheelchair representation is natural, not a lesson.
Meet the creator
Hi, I'm Layla. Welcome to Bravesmall.
I make Bravesmall's printable picture books and kits: gentle stories and simple tools for the big feelings little kids have a hard time putting into words.
Every book is a PDF you print at home on plain paper, so you can read it tonight, tape the pages where your child will see them, and print it again whenever it gets worn out.
Each one is written to be read together, with a few things to say and do when a feeling gets too big. They're tools for everyday life at home, not therapy or medical advice.
Browse the books
Questions? Write to hello@bravesmall.com. Layla reads every one.
Common questions
from parents
What ages are these for?
Most are written for ages 3 to 8, and each product page says which. The Calm-Down Kit is free, so you can see the style before you buy anything else.
Who are Bravesmall books for?
Parents of children aged 3 to 8, preschool and K–2 teachers, school counselors and homeschool families. They cover meltdowns and calm-down corners, anger, kindness, personal space, trying again, body safety, bedtime and morning routines, and what to say in the hard moments.
What are the books based on?
Published research and guidance from child psychologists, pediatricians and early-childhood organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt's early-childhood center (the Pyramid Model), John Gottman's emotion-coaching research, Carol Dweck's research on praise, and a randomized trial of the bedtime pass. Each product page lists its sources. They are educational tools, not therapy.
How do I get it after buying?
We email your downloads the moment you pay, and the page you land on opens them right away. Lost the email? Enter your address at Find my downloads and we'll send a fresh link.
Do I need a color printer?
No. Everything is US Letter and reads well in black and white on plain paper. Color just looks nicer.
Can I print it more than once?
Yes, as often as you like for your own family or one classroom. Please don't share or resell the files.
What if it isn't right for us?
Email us within 30 days and we'll fix the problem or refund you. No forms.
Is anything shipped to me?
No. These are PDFs you download and print at home. Nothing arrives in the mail.
