When Sophie Gets Angry...really, Really Angry (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "She kicks..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Raw zigzags of color convey a girl's rage in this compassionate volume, which proposes a cure for anger. Sophie's temper flares when her sister demands a turn playing with a favorite stuffed gorilla. Matters worsen when Sophie's mother passes judgment ("It is her turn now, Sophie") and Sophie trips over a toy truck in the resulting tug-of-war. Infernal shades of orange, yellow and red liken Sophie to a shuddering volcano; a gray cat with jagged fur wisely gets out of her way. With the "PABAM!" of a slammed door, the girl races outside. "She runs and runs and runs until she can't run anymore. Then, for a little while, she cries." Gradually, a calmer Sophie begins noticing birds and ferns. When she returns home, relaxed again, her sister has abandoned the gorilla in favor of a tabletop puzzle. With minimal text, Bang (Common Ground; Ten, Nine Eight) gives a realistic account of embattled siblings and prescribes self-imposed solitude. Edgy illustrations with roilingly patterned foreground shapes and looming, dark backgrounds convey Sophie's inner violence; in particular, a quiet image of a ghostly gray beech against a midnight-blue sky is reminiscent of Van Gogh's Japanese-print-inspired scenes. Bang's evocatively illustrated book suggests no quick fixes; she treats childhood emotions with respect. Ages 2-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Sophie is playing with her stuffed gorilla when her sister wrests it from her, knocking her to the floor. When their mother agrees that it is her sister's turn to play with the toy, Sophie becomes so angry that "She wants to smash the world to smithereens." She kicks, screams, and eventually runs into the woods where she climbs a huge beech tree, looks out over the water, and is comforted by the "wide world." Calm, she returns home ready to participate in family life. The text is appropriately brief, for it is Bang's double-page illustrations, vibrating with saturated colors, that reveal the drama of the child's emotions. Floorboards slant diagonally across two pages, echoing the agitation of the siblings as they engage in a tug of war. A close-up of Sophie's face with blue eyes blazing and pigtails flying is set against a fire-red background. Bang gives the ranting girl a huge red shadow. On the next spread, Sophie releases a "ROAR" so enormous that she seems to shrink off the page. The trees, outlined in bright red, mimic the girl's anger, then bow down as she passes by stooped and weeping, and finally sport bright-green outlines as she returns home cheered and hopeful. Sophie, like a missing piece, rejoins her family as the puzzle they are working on is completed. Pair this excellent story with Dorothea Lachner's Andrew's Angry Words (North-South, 1995).
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 31 pages
• Publisher: Blue Sky Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590189794
• ISBN-13: 978-0590189798
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #157,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book that helps to validate children's feelings, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This is one of our absolute favorite books. I have given it as a gift to many friends upon the birth of a sibling or a sad family event such as parental separation. It's so important for children to know that anger itself is OK and that there are appropriate ways to defuse it that don't hurt others. Even as adults we can use the visually compelling reminders that physical exertion, time alone and being in nature can help to soothe angry or hurt feelings. As for the fact that Sophie runs out of the house, I have only two comments: (1) children, especially small ones, are probably better able than adults to grasp metaphor (my children have read this book hundreds of times and never attempted to leave the house alone); (2) Sophie is a big girl living in a safe seaside area and is apparently quite well able to handle leaving the house alone. We should all be so lucky. Completely agree with one reviewer's observation that the change in colors in the book, particularly in the outlines of trees and figures, is a wonderful way of reinforcing the message that feelings can change and become manageable. One of my all-time favorites!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Rage . . . Safely Vented, March 26, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

When a young child gets frustrated, uncontrolled rage often follows. How can a parent help? I suggest reading this book together and discussing it while your child is in a good mood.

When Sophie Gets Angry was a Caldecott honoree for its remarkable illustrations in 2000. These illustrations combine the styles of Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Matisse in a vivid, bright, and effective way.

The book uses the metaphor of a "volcano, ready to explode" very effectively. Geologists would point out that a volcano without vents will explode as the water in the cone turns to steam with no place to go. With vents, all you get is a cloud of steam and gentle lava flows. Ms. Bang uses three illustration techniques to maximum advantage. First, she colors the page with the emotion Sophie is feeling. Second, she turns Sophie's words into physical expressions within the metaphor. Third, she changes her composition to show the transition that Sophie feels as she moves from within herself into touch with the world around her again.

My favorite two images in the book are when she first arrives at an old beech tree that she climbs into. The second has her sitting in the same tree while "the wide world comforts her."

This is one of the ten best illustrated children's books it has been my pleasure to view. I come to this conclusion based on the excellence of the style, the appropriate use of color, the fit with the story, and superb compositions. The quality is uniformly high in all these dimensions.

The story itself deals with a typical cause of childhood rage -- being asked to share when a child doesn't want to. Mom takes Sophie's sister's side, and then Sophie falls over a truck . . . hurting herself. That fans the flames! "She wants to smash the world to smithereens." "She roars a red, red roar."

Then Sophie does a positive thing. Rather than simply throwing a nonstop tantrum, she takes charge of managing her emotional state. Her reaction is to run. "She runs and runs and runs until she can't run anymore." "Then for a little while, she cries." At that point, she begins to come out of herself and her rage.

I liked the use of this method for handling anger, because researchers show that by changing our physiology we can change our mood. Also, exercising releases stress and anger.

Sophie's family lives near the seashore, so Sophie goes to a peaceful spot . . . where she has found solace before. I think this is an excellent example for your child, suggesting that a child find a place where she or he can be quietly alone where he or she finds peace. This can be a good place to visit, even when the child isn't angry.

Then Sophie comes home. "She feels better now." "The house is warm and smells good." "Everyone's glad she's home." So there are no further consequences except feeling loved. This is a marvelous way to encourage a child to take care of their emotions in ways that keep an even balance in family relations.

The messages that a child will get from this book are that anger is a natural reaction to everyday situations, that the anger can be defused by the child's own actions, and that this can all occur in a loving environment.

For a parent, it is easier to talk about Sophie's anger than your child's anger. But you can certainly ask your child what she or he thinks about Sophie's anger . . . and what Sophie should do. You can also ask your child if he or she has a favorite peaceful spot. You can also describe when you feel angry, and what you do about this. As a result, your child can begin to understand that there are multiple paths to defusing anger.

Please be aware that Sophie runs to a quiet place, not away from home. Certainly, you don't want your child to run away from home when angry. If you live in a small apartment, the quiet place may be a cozy corner in a room in the apartment near a window looking out on the beauties of nature. That's why you will want to have a discussion about appropriate quiet places.

Move toward peacefulness!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry, December 1, 2000

A Kid's Review

When Sophie Gets Angry-Really Really Angry... by Molly Bang, is a picture book about a little girl named Sophie who becomes angry with her sister for trying to play with the stuffed gorilla that she wants to play with. When Sophie gets angry at her sister, she runs away from her house and climbs a big beech tree where she watches the waves and lets the calm breeze comfort her. When she feels better she climbs down and goes happily back home. The illustrations in this book are drawn in a way as to reflect her mood at that time. They are not drawn with fine lines and a lot of detail. They have wide outlines and vibrant color. In a way, they look as if they were made by a child using crayons or finger paints. They start out, before Sophie becomes angry, with more calm colors such as green. When she begins to get mad at her sister the background changes from green to hot pink and when she is at the peak of her anger, the background changes to bright red to symbolize her anger. Sophie's anger also changes the sizes, proportions, and perspective of the pictures. The book starts off showing Sophie, her sister, the cat, and a few things on the floor and in the background. Then as her anger grows the pictures get closer in and shows more of her face. One of the pictures when she is most angry has a red background and her face takes up two whole pages. The size of the picture emphasizes how big and powerful her anger has made her feel. When Sophie is stomping around her house in a fit of anger, the author helps the reader imagine the noise she is making by writing different sounds on the page as she is making them. She doesn't just type them in, but she draws them and tries to incorporate them into the picture. One illustration shows Sophie roaring with anger. Instead of just writing that she roared with anger, there is a picture of little Sophie standing in the corner of the page and the word "roar" coming out of her mouth in the form of flames going across the entire page. As Sophie is running through the woods to the beech tree, many of the trees are drawn diagonally to show Sophie's unstable mood. As she is running through the woods the colors and the perspective of the illustrations gradually change. The colors go from bright angry red back to more calm colors. In the end when Sophie is sitting on the beech tree the sky is bright blue and Sophie is small again compared to the other things in the picture. Overall this book is great to read to children. The illustrations on their own can tell the story. This book can also be useful in helping children understand how certain colors can make them have a certain feeling toward something. Just the illustrations alone in this book make it worthwhile to read.