Olive and the Bad Mood

K-Gr 2—A cartoon cat walks across the pages, her bad mood apparent from mishaps beginning on the endpapers and reinforced by her expression, posture, and a growing dark cloud over her head. Olive rejects offers to play and insults her friends, one after another, causing black clouds to appear above their heads and showing how contagious foul humor and grumpiness can be. Olive cheers herself with a bag of candy and wonders why her five friends, now sitting together on a bench, are in a funk. They, too, cheer up when Olive shares her treats. The story conveys the hurtfulness of casual off-the-cuff comments and criticism, and, while candy as a cure-all seems somewhat simplistic, it is the act of sharing that cements the friendship. The characters' expressive faces could enhance a classroom unit on emotions or kindness. For a more positive spin on how children's variable moods affect friendships, try David Ezra Stein's Because Amelia Smiled (Candlewick, 2012). Depictions of handling anger around friends are also effectively portrayed in Linda Urban's Mouse Was Mad (Houghton Harcourt, 2009) and Jeremy Tankard's Grumpy Bird (Scholastic, 2007).—Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD