The hero of this picture book, Sam, has to wait for everything on the
playground one day, and this makes him mad. "He got madder and madder
until he was the maddest he had ever been in his whole life." And then,
suddenly, an unusual thing appears. It runs around, shoving and tripping
and pinching and stomping, until all the other children have run away.
"It was hanging upside down from the monkey bars, grinning at him. Sam
had never seen anything like it before, but he knew what it was. It was
a Temper." At first, having a pet Temper is fun. But before long, the
Temper starts causing trouble for Sam. And eventually, Sam comes to the
realization that his Temper is something he needs to learn to control.
This funny but poignant title by Sangeeta Bhadra offers a perfect
representation of just how frustrated and angry small children can get
when circumstances in their lives make them feel helpless. Though never
heavy-handed, Bhadra also manages to convey what the consequences can be
when that anger takes over a child's behavior. The quirky yet stunning
illustrations by Marion Arbona keep the emotional focus on the Temper,
as a way to help children identify that their anger is not who they are.
The emphasis on feelings makes this a terrific tie-in for character
education lessons on self-discipline and taking responsibility for your
actions, as well as on patience and perseverance when solving your own
problems.
