Angry Dragon

by Thierry Robberecht, Philippe Goossens (Illustrator)

When a little boy hears “no” from his mother one time too many, he feels his anger rising. It burns and builds, finally turning him into a giant dragon that destroys everything in its path. Nothing is safe: not toys or stuffed animals—not even Mom and Dad. But fortunately, a dragon’s fire doesn’t last forever. The simple, bold illustrations give shape to the power that emotions have to overwhelm and transform us, and vividly bring to life the angry dragon that lurks inside us all.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Dragons

29 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2004

Reviews

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's one my 5 yr old decided to read on his own, that came from our shelf. I picked it up at a library sale for .50 cents and I'm so glad I did. He loves it! An adorable book that's a great addition to any collection. About a grouchy boy that turns into a dragon after reading this, when our son gets tired we often ask him if he's going to turn into a dragon and he answers "No" that sounds kind of like "Duh!" Probably around a level 1 reading level. Great pictures and a wonderful story, we our entire family highly recommends it.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good depiction of a tantrum, although the little boy's narrative voice seemed rather too old to still be having this sort of hysterical episode over being told "no." The parents seem pretty lax.

My overall reaction was gratitude that I have an obedient cat instead of a bratty child.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always love it when kids books talk about feelings and emotions; I think that's therapeutic for kids to have that in story form. I remember when I studied PTSD and worried that my kids had it, I read that if you read stories to your kids that are about kids triumphing over bad things, it empowers them and helps them get through trauma, grief, fears, etc...like Hansel and Gretel is about two kids being resourceful and courageous in the face of some serious horror! I used to think I'd never read a nasty fairytale like that to my kids (I was always scared of that one), but because of what I'd learned, I read it to my kids and they Loved it, couldn't get enough of it, and I think it's cause they could relate a bit and it helped them. I also read that it's not as scary for kids cause they are the ones who can imagine up the level of scariness (unlike with TV and movies where they show you and you don't have to imagine) so you can read intense things to kids and their imaginations will convert that to what they can handle. Make sense? Or is this just my late-night babble? ;) Anyway, this book was along those lines...this cute boy gets angry and becomes a raging, inconsolable dragon, which was helpful for me and Tommy to realize that this happens to other kids, too, and it's okay. The feeling of anger is an okay feeling to have! Of course the boy doesn't handle it great which is why I wish they'd added on some more 'therapy' things like how it got better because he learned to talk about his anger instead of rage/deny/avoid, etc...But at least it was addressed and that's a valuable thing. :)

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love you even though we get uncontrollably mad sometimes 👿✅

[JL Mohnkern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book for kids with impulse and anger issues.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of books that have characters say words that I didn't allow my young children to say. "Hate" is a strong word, so to have a young child say "I hate you" to his parent in a book geared towards young children gives them that phrase to use.

This book has its place with traumatized children who come into a home already using that phrase with little emotional regulation. But if I were reading this to most children, I'd quickly edit as I read.

[Seema Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about how little ones sometimes feel out of control and so are almost as bad dragons.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to get a kid with anger issues to open up. I wanted to see more discussion about how to control anger.

[Mandeep’s reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short children's book about a boy who turns into a dragon when he gets angry that my preschooler loved.

My soon-to-be 4yo daughter loved this book and wanted it read to her again and again.... She responded with gleeful horror asking "wil he eat his mommy and daddy?" once he turned into a dragon... and she was wailing "will he stop crying?" and feeling bad along with the boy once he'd calmed down on his own.

Initially I didn't really like it because on the surface it doesn't really seem to teach anything useful about anger management - since the little boy turns into a dragon, refuses to be soothed, and seems to trash his room (I kind of glossed over this part) - but the overall message isn't about anger management, it's more about how after he calms down and then is able to allow his parents to comfort him they all still unconditionally love each other. My daughter seemed to get this message because without prompting she asked, "did his mommy love him even when he was a dragon?"

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a boy hears the word, "No" from his mother...he turns into an angry dragon. As an angry dragon, he does and says terrible things. He doesn't care about the things he does as a boy and he certainly can't understand people talk. After a while, he says all of his destruction and starts to cry. The tears put out the angry and he turns back into a boy that loves his parents. His parents reassure him that they love him even if he's a dragon sometimes.

The illustrations are red and dark to reflect the anger that the boy is experiencing.

I really like that this book can open the discussion about anger and feelings between child and parents/caregivers. However, I am not sure that I like how the boy's behavior is blamed on the dragon...children need to learn how to take responsibility and control of their emotions. This book, with discussion and guidance from an adult can help children begin to understand their feelings and work towards controlling them.

[Sandee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did not like this story. I felt it was kind of dark or for kids that experience rage issues.
Since I don't have a child with severe anger issues, I felt it went on and on about anger and rage.
The positive stuff came at the end and that was cool...but you had to add a LOT of cool to balance the angry dragon.
But forget what I said above because my kids liked it and it wasn't written for an old fart but for the kiddies.

That's why it's a 3-star instead of a 1-star rating.

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever have that horrible meltdown? This book re-imagines how a little boy feels when parents say no and he turns into a horrible dragon. While I had reservations articulating so much anger my 5 year-old son loved the idea.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, great for kids who have anger issues.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually liked this better than "When Sophie Gets Really, Really Angry"

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being angry from a child's point of view- calming down

[Cookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very specific children's book for kids with rage issues.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like it would help kids with an emotional impairment.

[Hannah E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!