FICTION

Mad at Dad

by Janie Hao (text) & illus. by Janie Hao
Kids Can. Oct. 2024. 32p. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781525310263.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2–With jagged, childlike scribbles on the endpapers and concerned stuffed animals looking on, a child with a black ponytail and terrifying eyebrows has tried counting, cartwheels, and jumping rope, because that’s how big the anger inside is. And that makes this child sad. Dad comes in to cuddle, soothe, and share a quiet time, and that does the trick. The huge, out-of-control emotions steering this child from mad to okay are displayed not only in the pictures but by the typeface, which looks very “loud.” It will be noisy, but this book is sure to be story hour favorite.
VERDICT The story is so basic but the treatment in words and art is not, and this will help children put into words the very noisy side of being mad.
Reviewed by Kimberly Olson Fakih , Dec 20, 2024

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