When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang
Rating: 4.5 stars
I wasn't sure about a book where the cover shows a little girl who looks ready to yell at me. But an old friend--we're talking horseback-riding-through-the-pineapple-fields old friend--suggested it to us. So of course we had to check it out.
I was still worried during the first few pages (of course I didn't preview it, I just plunged right ahead during breakfast one morning) when Sophie grabs a gorilla from her sister and resists sharing the toy. She "roars a red, red roar" (yikes!) and looks like a volcano about to erupt (double yikes!). What does Sophie do when she's really, really angry?
She runs.
She runs to the woods, to her favorite birch tree, which she climbs and sits on its sturdy branches, and lets the breeze lift her hair and her mood. She stares at the sea and finds solace in nature. She listens to the birds, chipmunks, owls, and squirrels and lets them calm her. Then she goes home, where everything is back together again.
My reading of
Last Child of the Woods
by Rirchard Louv resulted in a relocation to a house on several acres with creeks and trees and deer and butterflies. In case you've not heard of it or read it yourself, Richard Louv
cites multiple causes for why children spend less time outdoors and why they have less access to nature: our growing addiction to electronic media, the relinquishment of green spaces to development, parents’ exaggerated fears of natural and human predators, and the threat of lawsuits and vandalism that has prompted community officials to forbid access to their land. Drawing on personal experience and the perspectives of urban planners, educators, naturalists and psychologists, Louv links children’s alienation from nature to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, stress, depression and anxiety disorders, not to mention childhood obesity.
I know that was a long quote, but I had to put a small plug in for this book.
Anyway,
When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry is a good introduction to this concept that nature is important, that in nature one can find solace. Just an hour ago, Lorelei and Ben and I sat on our front porch and had lunch. It was one of the first meals at home during which we've
not read a book, but we did listen to cicadas and helicopters and watch our neighbor get a delivery, then wondered out loud what new thing they purchased. Then we pretended there were owls swooping through the trees. My fingers are crossed that they always have the ability to, like Sophie, turn to nature for comfort.
This book also encourages conversation about what to do when the inevitable happens: when you get angry, what do you do? My dad, an actual philosopher (among other things), always said that you might not be able to control the circumstances, but you can control your reaction to them. Of course I'd like to pass that wisdom on to my kids! But we're at the stage now where I'm simply trying to stop Ben from biting poor Lorelei when he's angry! Baby steps, baby steps. But at least I know what my goal is.
One less-positive note: I don't love the illustrations. This is a Caldecott winner, so I guess that the committee, along with swarms of other grown ups and kids, including my old pal Heather and her kids, liked it. Lorelei and Ben respond well to the strong, vibrant pictures, so...there's a reason for them. And there are many reasons to read this book. Enjoy!
We've read a bunch of Molly Bang books, and I expected a step out of the normal from her. We especially appreciated her When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry with its vibrant pictures and unique spin on what to do to regain control of yourself. 
