When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry
Description
Everybody gets angry sometimes. But it's not always easy to cope with this emotion especially for kids. Now, Caldecott Honor illustrator Molly Bang delivers a thoughtful, simple story filled with exquisite illustrations to help parents and children understand how to handle the common problem of anger. Little Sophie's experiences why she gets angry and what she does to express herself and find comfort can open up a dialogue between parents and children, and teach kids how to manage their anger. . . and thrive.
When Sophie's sister swipes the toy gorilla she's been playing with, Sophie gets upset. To make matters worse, Sophie trips over another toy and falls. Now Sophie's angry. Her first reaction is rage: "She kicks. She screams. She wants to smash the world to smithereens. She roars a red, red roar. " The fiery illustrations further convey Sophie's anger: Molly Bang uses a palette of intense orange and red hues and depicts Sophie's "roar" with a stream of fire coming out of her mouth, destroying everything in its path. This image as well as that of Sophie as a volcano, ready to explode is very effective and brings Sophie's anger to life.
Finally Sophie races outside and runs until she's completely exhausted. Then she cries for a while. These are effective means of dealing with her anger, and she releases the worst of her rage in the process. Then Sophie starts to notice the comfort of nature that surrounds her. She climbs a tree and "she feels the breeze blow her hair. She watches the water and the waves. "Consequently,Molly Bang's illustrations become more soothing colored in white, greens, and blues as Sophie appears to calm down. When Sophie feels better, she returns home to the loving welcome of her family.
By observing how Sophie reacts to and copes with her anger, parents, teachers, and children will be inspired to talk about all the different things people do when they're angry. When Sophie Gets Angry Really, Really Angry. . . is a beautiful, useful book that shows kids that everybody gets angry now and then but that they shouldn't let this frightening emotion get the best of them.
Reading level: Ages 3-7
