Board Book Review: Little Thor Gets Mad

This book is really apt for us right now, because Maren has taken to hitting when she’s frustrated or mad. And Madeline has trouble with her emotions getting the best of her very quickly and needing ways to calm down. So this one is great for both kids. Maren is still too young to talk things out, but it’s never too early to start showing her how certain expressions of anger aren’t okay. (As in stop hitting me in the face, you cute little monster). Madeline gives this one bonus points because it’s got Thor in it. But the best part for her is that this book shows healthy ways to calm and redirect your anger, which I think is also pretty effective for when she’s crying like the world is ending because none of her clean dresses have pockets.

I like that this book isn’t simply showing you an emotion and moving on, but rather grounding it in a small plot to show a “real world” scenario. I think this is great because the example is something we can refer back to. Rather than “remember how that one character had a grumpy face because he was mad?” We can say “remember how Thor’s friends broke his project and he wanted to smash them with his hammer, but then he took some deep breaths and talked about why he was angry with them instead?” It’s just a whole lot more useful! Plus, it’s funny! I mean, you actually see him considering smashing them. So you see that it’s okay to have those impulses, but not acting on them is the important part. I like that. It’s a very well rounded look at anger.