This wonderful and engaging 1st book in a trilogy that includes Steps
and Stones and Peace, and Bugs and Understanding, gives children and
caregivers a concrete practice for dealing with anger and other
difficult emotions.
In Anh's Anger, five-year-old Anh becomes enraged when his grandfather
asks him to stop playing and come to the dinner table. The grandfather
helps Anh fully experience all stages of anger by suggesting that he go
to his room and, sit with his anger. The story unfolds when Anh
discovers what it means to sit with his anger. He comes to know his
anger in the first person as his anger comes to life in full color and
personality. Anh and his anger work through feelings together with humor
and honesty to find a way to constructively release their thoughts and
emotions and to reach resolve with Anh's grandfather.
The story is beautifully illustrated with handmade collages by New York
artist and childrens book illustrator Christiane Kromer. Each collage is
a mix of paper, acrylic, and cardboard, and found materials. The
materials reflect the connection between the characters and their
environment and are indicative of the wide range of emotions that come
together in the story.
Anh's Anger teaches children that it is okay to feel angry, and shows
the technique, often used by child therapists, of externalizing the
emotion. Through taking time to sit' with his anger, a young child is
able to see his anger and talk to it and together they move through the
journey of experiencing the different stages of anger until the feeling
subsides and finally resolve. Anh's Anger differs significantly from
other books on anger resolution techniques in showing that the child is
able to talk about what transpired and accept responsibility for hurtful
things that he may have said or done.
The author's intention is to help parents understand that there is an
alternative to time out's as a means of helping children to express
themselves when feeling angry, while providing children with a mechanism
for internal dialogue during a time out or when sitting with their
anger.
Through reading the story, children will learn to acknowledge anger when
it arises, understand the cause of their anger, and ultimately feel safe
expressing themselves and accepting accountability for their actions
when appropriate. By learning these skills, children, will grow
comfortable with them and carry them into adulthood with ease and
confidence.
