Sam’s Pet Temper
Sangeeta Bhadra and Marion Arbona, Kids Can Press 2014
This book is wonderful in that it represents Sam’s temper as a pet. In giving an emotion a fluffy body and a personality it reminded me of Shelter for Sadness and When Sadness Comes to Call. However, this emotion licks Sam like a dog and purrs like a cat. At first, Sam’s temper seems useful. It scares away other children, so he does not have to queue. Sam sees it as separate from himself. He did nothing wrong, his temper did it. Soon his temper does something even worse. His mother explains that no one can control it for him. He has to do it himself. Sam struggles. He tries counting to ten. He knows he has to be stronger than the temper. It becomes a howling gale. He breathes out slowly. He has done it. The temper sulks and leaves to befriend a toddler.
Sweep
By Louise Greig and Julia Sarda,Egmont 2018
This book represents a bad mood as an action not as an entity, as in Sam’s Pet Temper. However, the action is equally dramatic and eye catching. Sam is sweeping leaves but as his temper grows, so does his sweeping. Soon his leaf pile is vast, so vast it also contains a bus, two ladies drinking tea at a café table on top of the bus, some bicycles and also cars. This story explains ways Ed could have got some perspective. He knew he had gone far enough but did not feel able to stop. He could have looked at beautiful aspects of life but didn’t. He could decide it wasn’t worth it but he kept going. Soon even the flowers disappear and everyone is affected. Then something changes, In this story, it is not Ed who changes, but a new wind comes. He is now able to look up. He notices the good things of life represented by kites and balloons. The ending is that next time he begins to develop a bad mood, he has a choice.