Sometimes a children's story does a much better job of impressing a point on a toddler than anything we as parents can say or do. So we hit up the inspired child development experts at Seedlings Group for a list of great children's books to address everything from tantrums and sharing to sickness and feelings—for those days when our own parenting skills seem to be falling short.

TANTRUMS

• When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry, by Molly Bang
• Mouse was Mad, by Linda Urban and Henry Cole
• Finn Throws a Fit, by David Elliott and Timothy Basil Ering
• The Chocolate Covered Cookie Tantrum, by Deborah Blumenthal and Harvey Stevenson
• Beatrice Doesn’t Want To, by Laura Numeroff and Lynn Munsinger

CHORES

• How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores, by Stan Berenstain

PARENTAL LOVE

• You Are My I Love You, by Maryann K. Cusimano
• I Love You Through And Through, by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak
• Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram

SHARING/FRIENDS

• The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister Herbert
• How Do Dinosaurs Play with their Friends?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• A Visitor for Bear, by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton
• The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Williams
• But Excuse Me, That is My Book, by Lauren Child
• A Splendid Friend, Indeed, by Suzanne Bloom

PERSEVERENCE

• The Little Engine That Could, by Loren Long

EATING

• How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• Bread and Jam for Frances, by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban
• Little Pea, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

NEW SIBLING

• How to Be a Baby by Me, the Big Sister, by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap
• The New Baby, by Ruth Shane
• Baby Come Out!, by Fran Manushkin

FEELINGS

• My Many Colored Days, by Theodor Geisel - Dr. Seuss
• Grumpy Gloria, by Anna Dewdney
• Bear Feels Scared, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
• Llama Llama Mad, at Mama by Anna Dewdney
• Today I Feel Silly, by Jamie Lee Curtis
• Mrs. Biddlebox, by Linda smith
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst

MOVING

• The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day, by Stan Berenstain
  
• Big Ernie’s New Home, by Teresa Martin and Whitney Martin

VALUES

• A Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. Williams

POTTY

• Big Girls Use the Potty!, by Andrea Pinnington
• Once Upon a Potty, by Alona Frankel
• Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi
• No More Diapers for Ducky, by Bernette Ford and Sam Williams
• A Potty for Me!, by Karen Katz

SICKNESS

• Bear Feels Sick, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
• How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• The Berenstain Bears Get A Checkup, by Stan Berenstain

SEPARATION

• Don’t Go, by Jane Breskin Zalben
• Llama Llama Misses Mama, by Anna Dewdney
• The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn

GOING TO SLEEP

• The Going to Bed Book, by Sandra Boynton
• How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• Bedtime for Frances, by Russell Hoban

ADOPTION

• Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
• The Little Green Goose, by Adele Sansone
• Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale, by Karen Katz

TWO MOMS/TWO DADS

• Mommy, Mama, and Me, by Lesléa Newman
• The Family Book, by Todd Parr
• Daddy, Papa, and Me, by Lesléa Newman

PACIFIERS

• Pacifiers are not Forever, by Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen
• No More Pacifiers!, by Melanie O’Brien

MOVING TO A TODDLER BED

•  Sophie's Big Bed, by Tina Burke

DIVORCE

• Two Homes, by Claire Masurel
• It’s Not Your Fault, Koko Bear, by Vicki Lansky
• Dinosaurs Divorce, by Marc Brown

PHYSICAL AGGRESSION

• Teeth Are Not for Biting, by Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen
• Hands Are Not for Hitting, by Martine Agassi Ph.D. and Marieka Heinlen
• No Biting!, by Karen Katz
• No Hitting!, by Karen Katz

BULLIES

• Let’s Be Enemies, by Janice May Udry

BEING UNIQUE

• Freckleface Strawberry, by Julianne Moore
• Big Dog…Little Dog, by P.D. Eastman
• A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni

NIGHTMARES

• There’s A Nightmare In My Closet, by Mercer Mayer

DEATH

• Remembering Grandpa, by Uma Krishnaswami

SCHOOL

• WOW School, by Robert Neubecker
• I Am Absolutely Too Small for School, by Lauren Child

CONCEPT OF TIME

• A Second is a Hiccup: A Child’s Book of Time, by Hazel Hutchins

CURIOSITY

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.
• What Do You Do With a Tale Like This?, by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
• Where do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis