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by Rania M. Tulba (Illustrator), Carly Mottinger (Author)
Little kids have big feelings! And that can be a lot to handle, especially when you don't know where those feelings are coming from or when they might go away. MAD is the story of a little girl who is troubled by a persistent feeling of anger, personified by a tiny tornado that refuses to leave her alone. The tenacious funnel of fury follows the little girl throughout her daily activities, whether she's brushing her teeth, jumping rope, or watching a movie with her family. Although she tries many ways to get rid of the unwanted feeling - escaping it with a nap, ignoring it, tossing it in the trash - it just refuses to blow over! Finally, the girl's mom comes up with the perfect answer to the problem as they are out in the garden together: it just takes pulling some (metaphorical) weeds! After all, once the weeds have been pulled, you can plant something beautiful, just like an angry feeling can be replaced with seeds of happiness.
MAD is a beautifully written and illustrated book that puts the concept of overwhelming emotions into language and images that young readers can understand. The idea of anger being a little storm cloud that follows you around is a clever metaphor that resonates with adults and kids alike, and the cloud's changing expressions - gloating as it intensifies and pouting as it's pushed out - add to the quirky humor of the storytelling. This book makes a wonderful conversation starter for parents and their kiddos, opening the door for little ones to explore and accept their emotions. Weeding a garden and planting seeds are simple concepts that children can easily grasp and apply to their own lives. Giving kids the tools to cope with things beyond their control is a special gift, and having MAD as part of the toolkit is a great start!
