When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry… by Molly Bang

In this Caldecott-honor book, children will see what Sophie does when she gets angry. We all get angry sometimes. And we do lots of different things when they get angry. What do you do? Sophie’s temper flares when her sister insists on having a turn with Sophie’s favorite stuffed gorilla. To make matters worse, Sophie’s mother says "It is her turn now, Sophie," and then seconds later Sophie trips over a toy truck in the resulting of tug-of-war. She becomes so mad "She wants to smash the world to smithereens." The boldly painted artwork swirls with the intense energy Sophie feels. The pages are filled with shades of infernal orange, yellow and red like a shuddering volcano. Sophie runs and runs until she can’t run anymore. In the woods she climbs a huge beech tree, looks out over the water, and is comforted by the “wide world.” Feeling better, she returns home where mom greets her with open arms. Reading this story with children provides a great opportunity to talk about anger and ways to deal with angry feelings. It is a great book about understanding emotions.

Jessica, 1st grade teacher