Mouse is mad. Hopping mad, in fact. But, according to rabbit, his hopping is ridiculous. Rabbit shows him how to hop properly, and when mouse tries again, he lands in a mud puddle. This makes him even madder. STOMPING mad, in fact. But bear has an opinion about mouse’s stomping ability. One by one, the animals criticize mouse’s actions, making him more and more mad, until mouse finds a way to be mad that no one can top. Of course, the admiration he receives from the other animals cures his bad mood. This delightful book would be fun to follow up by talking about feelings, and what we do when we feel mad (and when it’s okay to stomp or scream), or sad, or happy. Children can feel frustrated if they don’t yet have the words to express how they feel, so giving them that vocabulary, especially in a safe, loving situation like a one-on-one reading session, can really help ease their frustration.
Urban, Linda. Mouse Was Mad. Illus. by Henry Cole. New York, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2009. ISBN: 9780152053376
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