Sam's Pet Temper

July 21, 2014
Tired of waiting for his turn at the swings, Sam gets “madder and madder until he was the maddest he had ever been in his whole life.” Suddenly, a scrawled black blob with horns, raccoonlike appendages, and a bright red mouth appears; anyone who’s watched a pharmaceutical commercial will know it’s the externalized version of Sam’s temper. Seeing the Temper’s impact makes Sam realize just how out of control it is—and how hard it is to control it. But Sam’s mother insists that he can’t keep passing the emotional buck: “Tempers cause trouble,” she says, after Temper draws an unflattering caricature of Sam’s teacher on the blackboard and Sam gets sent home early. “Now you have to do something about it.” Debut author Bhadra shows she can build a compelling narrative arc, and her ending is knowing and funny (the Temper moves on to a toddler). If the story can occasionally feel overwritten, it’s because Arbona’s (Magic Clothesline) expressionistic drawings have a fever-dream vividness. Her demented, mercurial Temper is primitivist gem—the appalling dynamo that lurks within us all. Ages 3–7.

July 15, 2014
A little boy's temper becomes a creature of its own.Fed up with waiting his turn for the swings and slide at a crowded playground, Sam becomes angry. From the top of his head rises a dark tangle of curly pencil lines. "Suddenly, something jumped in among the kids." It's a Temper, and it's a feisty little monster. It clears the playground (no more waiting!) and follows Sam home. Naturally there's trouble, and Sam's defense that "it wasn't me. It was my Temper" holds no water. From home to school to playground, Sam becomes increasingly frustrated with the Temper's mischief and eruptions. Finally, he musters inner strength and learns to control it. It's unclear, given that the Temper arose from Sam's own head, why checking it doesn't make it disappear-instead, it lurks near a toddler as if considering becoming that toddler's temper. Intermittent patterned backgrounds recall the 1970s, as does the limited color range, which nicely offsets the volatile emotion. Figures are stylized with a faint touch of art deco, especially in their positions and postures. The Temper's a ball of curly black hair with black button eyes, striped limbs and tail, and a huge red mouth, its general shape paralleling Sam's hair (though also, unfortunately, recalling a golliwog doll).A satisfactory addition to the wide category of picture books about fury and tantrums. (Picture book. 3-6)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 1-3-Sam gets mad very easily. He doesn't like to wait in line for a swing on the playground or eat his dinner when his parents tell him to. One day, when he is particularly angry, he discovers a new pet: his temper. It is personified as a black ball of fuzz with long gray-and-white arms and legs and a big bright red tongue. It follows him wherever he goes until he discovers a way to control his temper so it doesn't affect his life or those around him. This is a noble effort that borders on the didactic. By having Sam's anger physically manifested as his pet, Bhadra hits young readers over the head with her message. Arbona's pencil, goauche, and Photoshop illustrations are a playful alternative to the heavy-handed text. Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry (Scholastic, 1999) is an enjoyable story that makes its point more subtly.-Christopher Lassen, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017

RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING; SELF-MANAGEMENT

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.