Who knows the best way to be mad? Bear stomps. Hare hops. Bobcat screams. Mouse? He just can't get it right. But when he finds the way that works for him--still and quiet--he discovers that his own way might be the best of all.
Linda Urban's story about self-expression and managing anger is both sweet and sly, and Henry Cole's cast of animal friends is simply irresistible.
From the Publisher
"Urban unfurls the gentle ‘be true to yourself’ moral perfectly, with plenty of funny dialogue, overplayed reaction and the enduring appeal of the tiny hero. Cole’s terrific watercolors reflect Mouse’s emotional growth in spreads and spots brimming with movement. Who knew standing still could be so dramatic? Well-pitched for preschoolers just learning social skills, this would be equally excellent for family reading, classrooms and storytimes."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review“Through playful language and expressive watercolors with colored pencil and ink, this story about anger management proves to be both entertaining and therapeutic. . . . Mouse finds his own way through his ire and, in the process, may help a few youngsters get a handle on their own.”—School Library Journal
Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
We don't know why the appealing young mouse in striped overalls is so mad. But hopping mad he is, at least until Hare shows him how to hop properly. But trying that just lands Mouse in a mucky mud puddle. Getting angrier, Mouse is stomping mad. Bear, however, soon shows him how stomping mad should make the earth rumble. Poor Mouse just ends in the mud again. When he is brought to screaming mad, that only makes Bobcat demonstrate a real scream. Mouse's attempt to imitate puts him back in the mud. Hedgehog's rolling around leads Mouse to the "muckiest mud puddle of all." They are all impressed, however, when Mouse reaches "standing still mad." No one can do it as well as he can. By then, Mouse is finally feeling better, but he is in much need of a bath. Cole uses watercolors, colored pencils, and ink to depict Mouse as angry across the front pages onto the title page. The visual story is told in vignettes, animal-by-animal sequences, with Mouse's acrobatic variations. The final end pages show an exuberant hero now jumping for joy. Angry youngsters may be encouraged to laugh instead of getting "mad." Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Children's Literature - Elizabeth Fronk
Mouse is really mad and tries to express it by hopping. Hare immediately corrects Mouse about the hopping. When Mouse tries to copy Hare, Mouse lands in a mud puddle. Now Mouse is even madder than he was before Hare visited. Mouse decides the best way to express his anger now is by stomping, but Bear wants to show Mouse the best way to stomp. Mouse needs to find his own way of being angry in spite of advice from Bobcat and Hedgehog as well as Bear and Hare. In his discovery about expressing his anger, Mouse may also find a way to quit being angry. This surprising and delightful picture book provides a unique twist on expressing anger as well as being true to one's self. It also uses some good repetition and humor along the way and this cannot help but delight preschoolers and kindergartners. Henry Cole's watercolor and pencil drawings work well with the text, particularly the effort that Mouse takes to express himself. Whether this story is read aloud or silently, the drawings and text continue to enlighten and delight. Reviewer: Elizabeth Fronk
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2 When readers meet Mouse, he is furious. First he is "hopping mad," but expert Hare informs him that he is not hopping properly and shows him the correct moves. On the animated spreads that follow, Bear, Bobcat, and Hedgehog demonstrate how to be "stomping," "screaming," and "rolling-around-on-the ground" mad. However, each time Mouse tries to imitate them, he finds himself sprawled in a mud puddle. It is not until he is "standing-still mad" and none of the others can best his motionless stance that he begins to feel better. Through playful language and expressive watercolors with colored pencil and ink, this story about anger management proves to be both entertaining and therapeutic. Just like the heroine in Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry ... (Scholastic, 1999), Mouse finds his own way through his ire and, in the process, may help a few youngsters get a handle on their own.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Kirkus Reviews
While never communicating quite what Mouse is mad about at the outset, this charmingly illustrated title takes readers through several possible methods of expressing said anger. Mouse tries to blow off steam by hopping, stomping, screaming and rolling, but in each case, another animal is ready with both a sharp critique and a demonstration of superior skill in the category at hand. Practicing these techniques lands Mouse in increasingly mucky mud puddles. Finally in caked overalls, he is really (times four) mad. "Standing-still mad." This in-character manifestation fairly bedazzles his associates. " ‘Impressive,' said Hare. / ‘What control,' said Bear. / ‘Are you breathing?' asked Hedgehog." Urban unfurls the gentle "be true to yourself" moral perfectly, with plenty of funny dialogue, overplayed reaction and the enduring appeal of the tiny hero. Cole's terrific watercolors reflect Mouse's emotional growth in spreads and spots brimming with movement. Who knew standing still could be so dramatic? Well-pitched for preschoolers just learning social skills, this would be equally excellent for family reading, classrooms and storytimes. (Picture book. 3-7)
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