 |
| Author: Molly Bang / Publisher: The Blue Sky Press / ISBN: 0-590-18979-4 |
When I was asked to blog about an award winning children’s book, I had such hard time selecting one book. There are so many wonderful books to choose from. As I was going down the list of winners, I immediately thought of “When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry…” by Molly Bang. It is a book about emotions and I love to teach this subject to children and ask them to use their face to express different emotions.
" When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry..." is a story about Sophie who gets angry at her sister. She acts up and wants to "SMASH THE WORLD TO SMITHEREENS"!!! Sophie goes on an emotional roller coaster but eventually calms herself down by walking, climbing and feeling nature's beauty. At the end of the story Sophie is back at home and feeling peaceful.
What I like most about this book is Molly’s Bang use of color and line to depict Sophie's moods. For instance, When Sophie is really, really angry she is surrounded by vibrating lines of red and purple and it appears she is going to explode! Then she runs and runs out in the forest and the colors change to green, brown, and finally blue. The pictures do such a great job of conveying not only the storyline, but the emotions, that the words are almost completely unnecessary. The illustrations and the colors reminds me of Van Gogh style.
I enjoy using this book in the classroom because it shows the children that angry feelings are normal and can be managed. I think this book is a wonderful addition to any lesson about emotions. At the beginning of the school year a lot of children have a hard time sharing the toys. Feeling angry, screaming, and crying are the most common in the classroom. This book shows the children ways to cope with anger and also help promote non-violent ways to express anger and be happy again.
Diala,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you have picked this book. How can we not want to read this story after looking at Sophie’s face on the cover? All of our attention is drawn to her arched eyebrows leaving us to wonder, “What could have happened to get Sophie this angry?” Then, right away we find out she doesn’t like to share.
We don’t anticipated, but sometimes it is inevitable to have a child that is resentful in sharing materials, especially at the beginning of the year. As teachers, it is our job to handle these situations appropriately, and what better way than reading a book that targets the same issues. Dealing with problematic behaviors is one of the many ways we can use books as resources. Since books can have both a positive and negative affect on a child’s attitude, our book selections must be closely monitored.
I remember talking to one of my coworkers about this book, and she immediately explained to me that when reading this story it is important to clarify the part when Sophie runs away into the woods. This had occurred to me as I previewed the book, but I did not think it could be an issue. In reality, this can be a concern if a child interprets the story literally. The last thing we want is for children to run away and climb trees in the woods. Although, I have read this story to my children and they have never suggested or attempted to run away. In any instance, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
The nice part, however, is the fact that we can introduce the technique of using metaphors in literature as we explain how Sophie uses the sounds in the woods to calm her down. Also, like you mentioned the connections between color and mood are remarkable in this book. We can even use the illustrations for an art lesson. The beauty of books is that they can serve so many purposes in the classroom, and this book is one of them.