What do you think?
Rate this book
When Miles Got Mad
When his little brother breaks his favorite toy, MILES GETS MAD. As his anger swells, he suddenly catches sight of himself in the mirror - but instead of his own reflection, a furry red monster with big round eyes and funny teeth stares back at him. By encouraging Miles to use his words to express his anger, the Mad Monster helps Miles move through this big emotion to calm himself. Through this fun story and adorable illustrations, this insightful and entertaining children's book offers much-needed comfort to young children as they struggle to regulate their emotions.
30 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
379 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 24, 2014
A really important book. Well done. Great metaphor for anger in a way that speaks to young children. My boys were very interested and could identify, and we discussed how to deal with anger as we read.
March 26, 2024
Here's one of those self-help picture books that, supposedly, teaches young children THE ANSWER to anger. As if anger were a simple problem, deserving one simplistic solution.
In this book, Miles' "terrible ugliness" is described and pictured vividly.
Well, well. Bring on the pop psychology, as in:
"Well, then, let's FIGURE OUT what you can do to feel better. Why don't you try hitting that pillow?"
And, later, "How about TELLING ME what's making you so mad?"
RATING THIS BOOK
Goodreaders, as you may know, my policy is to rate a book in terms of how the intended readers would react.
Any and all of the following might describe those intended readers:
* Adults who like books for personal development. (Hey, this Goodreaders author writes them, and reads them. Only I'm skeptical of the value of teaching emotional skills in a picture book for toddlers.)
* Adults who adore pop psychology. (I don't. Professionally I offer an alternative, Energy Spirituality®. Never would I attempt to teach any of the skills my field, tell them casual casual like, in a picture book for young children. But that's just me and my values. Now back to intended readers...)
* Children who have been scolded for having "a bad temper." And they don't want to be bad but become GOOD.
On behalf of such readers, FIVE STARS for this therapy in a box.
Personally, I doubt the effect for most readers will be really helpful. Instead, for most readers, they'll like feel worse than ever about themselves and their problems. As in, "This approach is supposed to work for everyone. How come it doesn't help me?"
Hope not, though.
In this book, Miles' "terrible ugliness" is described and pictured vividly.
Well, well. Bring on the pop psychology, as in:
"Well, then, let's FIGURE OUT what you can do to feel better. Why don't you try hitting that pillow?"
And, later, "How about TELLING ME what's making you so mad?"
RATING THIS BOOK
Goodreaders, as you may know, my policy is to rate a book in terms of how the intended readers would react.
Any and all of the following might describe those intended readers:
* Adults who like books for personal development. (Hey, this Goodreaders author writes them, and reads them. Only I'm skeptical of the value of teaching emotional skills in a picture book for toddlers.)
* Adults who adore pop psychology. (I don't. Professionally I offer an alternative, Energy Spirituality®. Never would I attempt to teach any of the skills my field, tell them casual casual like, in a picture book for young children. But that's just me and my values. Now back to intended readers...)
* Children who have been scolded for having "a bad temper." And they don't want to be bad but become GOOD.
On behalf of such readers, FIVE STARS for this therapy in a box.
Personally, I doubt the effect for most readers will be really helpful. Instead, for most readers, they'll like feel worse than ever about themselves and their problems. As in, "This approach is supposed to work for everyone. How come it doesn't help me?"
Hope not, though.
October 31, 2024
This book walks young kids through how to regulate their emotions, specifically anger. Miles’ younger brother accidentally breaks something special to Miles. As Miles talks through his emotions (with a giant red monster symbolizing his destructive energy), the anger dissipates and eventually disappears altogether. When his little brother returns, cowering behind Mom, Miles suggests they repair the toy together and all is well.
It was okay, but I wish that Miles had talked about his initial reaction and apologized for yelling at and scaring Max. Instead of glossing over the outburst and going right to a resolution, it would have been nice to show that when we do act in anger, tempting though it may be to skip right to “Everything’s fine again,” it’s good to acknowledge our moments of unkindness and mistakes.
I have some loftier points about how feeling anger or frustration is not necessarily a bad thing (for example, in Miles Is the Boss of His Body, his anger indicates a strong sense of personal boundaries), but that was my main gripe.
It was okay, but I wish that Miles had talked about his initial reaction and apologized for yelling at and scaring Max. Instead of glossing over the outburst and going right to a resolution, it would have been nice to show that when we do act in anger, tempting though it may be to skip right to “Everything’s fine again,” it’s good to acknowledge our moments of unkindness and mistakes.
I have some loftier points about how feeling anger or frustration is not necessarily a bad thing (for example, in Miles Is the Boss of His Body, his anger indicates a strong sense of personal boundaries), but that was my main gripe.
August 6, 2017
Not as good as the Boss of his body book, but my child still related to the character and could see herself in the pages.
April 19, 2018
Simple explanation on anger and how to deal with it. Engaging for young kids and informative.
December 25, 2016
"When Miles Got Mad"’ written by Sam Kurtzman-Counter is a story that speaks about children and their emotions and therefore will be helpful to parents in situations when their children get angry just as the little Miles did.
On the other hand it helps young children to learn how to express and understand their own feelings therefore parents should be advised that during the reading with their children use an opportunity and discuss this subject with their kids.
"‘When Miles Got Mad"’ is educating and beautifully designed book that will be equally beneficial to children and the older readers - because of it can certainly be highly recommended.
On the other hand it helps young children to learn how to express and understand their own feelings therefore parents should be advised that during the reading with their children use an opportunity and discuss this subject with their kids.
"‘When Miles Got Mad"’ is educating and beautifully designed book that will be equally beneficial to children and the older readers - because of it can certainly be highly recommended.
October 5, 2013
This was a cute book with some great illustrations and a very important message. However, I did have a couple of thoughts about it.
1. It isn't really explained what being mad is... I had to try and find a way to explain it while we were reading it.
2. It's a little over the top, sort of saying that being mad is NEVER good. In our house, we have the policy that it's ok to be mad sometimes, but if you're mad you go to your room and be mad alone so no one gets hurt and nothing gets broken.
Overall, this is definitely a great book for teachers and parents with young children.
1. It isn't really explained what being mad is... I had to try and find a way to explain it while we were reading it.
2. It's a little over the top, sort of saying that being mad is NEVER good. In our house, we have the policy that it's ok to be mad sometimes, but if you're mad you go to your room and be mad alone so no one gets hurt and nothing gets broken.
Overall, this is definitely a great book for teachers and parents with young children.
October 17, 2013
Age: Preschool-1st grade
Emotions: Anger
After Miles' baby brother accidentally breaks Miles' model airplane, Miles gets really, really mad. In the mirror he sees a big, red monster that helps Miles talk through his anger. As he talks about why he is angry, the monster slowly disappears. In the end, Miles is much calmer and everything turns out perfectly in the end. Sure, this utopia is not completely realistic but it is a good model for talking through your feelings. I also liked the real photograph settings with cartoon people laid on top.
Emotions: Anger
After Miles' baby brother accidentally breaks Miles' model airplane, Miles gets really, really mad. In the mirror he sees a big, red monster that helps Miles talk through his anger. As he talks about why he is angry, the monster slowly disappears. In the end, Miles is much calmer and everything turns out perfectly in the end. Sure, this utopia is not completely realistic but it is a good model for talking through your feelings. I also liked the real photograph settings with cartoon people laid on top.
September 30, 2013
just received this book today. I really liked it. It has a great message and helps to show kids ways to calm themselves when angry. My 14 month old, while not able to understand the meaning yet, loved the pictures. I think this will be a wonderful book to add to his library as he will be a big brother someday and I'm sure will deal with the frustration of a younger sibling breaking his things.
July 23, 2013
When his little brother breaks his favorite toy, MILES GETS MAD. As his anger swells, he suddenly catches sight of himself in the mirror - but instead of his own reflection, a furry red monster with big round eyes and funny teeth stares back at him. By encouraging Miles to use his words to express his anger, the Mad Monster helps Miles move through this big emotion to calm himself.
May 23, 2016
I typically don't like picture books with an obvious message like this (I think kids are smart enough to infer life lessons from events in a story if it's well told) but the comic-like panels with the mix of photo and cartoon art was interesting. And it's not terrible to teach kids to talk through their feelings. On the fence here for sure.
June 17, 2013
This was a little heavy on the "message" of not getting mad...
November 23, 2013
excellent book to share with your child explaining why you get mad, how to handle it and to talk instead of hit.
February 20, 2014
This is a particularly good fit for MT as 1) it is about how to control temper; 2) it is about how to handle conflicts between siblings, i.e., between him and his younger brother.
June 19, 2014
Great read about how anger can get out of control but also about how we can learn to control it. Great storytime book for feelings.
April 23, 2014
Cute illustrations, but the story itself is bit too didactic.
March 31, 2015
I'm all for teaching kids to cope with anger appropriately, but I think it could have been done without the rage monster. That kind of threw me off.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews