The Temper Tantrum Book

by Edna Mitchell Preston, Rainey Bennett

Pastel watercolors and humorous verses help children identify with the baby animals who cry, fuss, and fume over the difficulties of growing up

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Emotion, Childrens

34 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 1969

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of animals throw a temper tantrum in rhyme in this amusing picture-book from 1969. From Lionel Lion, who doesn't like to have the tangles in his hair combed, to Thomas Q. Tiger, who doesn't care to be groomed too roughly, each animal vents their anger, before explaining what the trouble is. Only Henrietta Hippopotamus, whose mother allows her to wallow in the mud, is happy and content...

With a rhyming text from author Edna Mitchell Preston, and colorful artwork from illustrator Rainey Bennett, The Temper Tantrum Book would make an excellent read-aloud at story-time. The question/answer format of the story works very well, allowing the reader to appreciate the humorous side of the bad behavior first, and then revealing what is causing it. I don't know that this really has a very clear didactic purpose - if the lesson is to learn self control, even when frustrated, why is the only well-behaved animal child the one who is allowed to do as she pleases? - but it is nevertheless a sympathetic depiction of an all-too-common childhood occurrence: the temper tantrum. Recommended to those seeking picture-books for younger children, especially ones featuring childlike frustration.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently Ada's favorite book. After each example of baby animals throwing a tantrum - due to hair combing, face washing, etc - she nods sagely and says "That's hard."

[Cws]

JENF-Pre

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember much about this book other than I enjoyed reading it aloud and it had interesting artwork. 3/5 stars.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this picture book, we meet an array of young animals who are angry and throw a tantrum because of the things their mothers won't let them do. Then we meet Henrietta, a hippopotamus who's very happy because her mom lets her roll in the mud. This is an excellent book for teaching about attitudes; that our anger, or happiness stems from either a positive or negative attitude. Good as a read aloud for preschool and up.