When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry

Sophie

by Molly Bang, Carrie Fisher (Narrated by)

The Barnes & Noble Review
Everybody gets angry sometimes. But it's not always easy to cope with this emotion — especially for kids. Now, Caldecott Honor illustrator Molly Bang delivers a thoughtful, simple story — filled with exquisite illustrations — to help parents and children understand how to handle the common problem of anger. Little Sophie's experiences — why she gets angry and what she does to express herself and find comfort — can open up a dialogue between parents and children, and teach kids how to manage their anger...and thrive.

When Sophie's sister swipes the toy gorilla she's been playing with, Sophie gets upset. To make matters worse, Sophie trips over another toy and falls. Now Sophie's angry. Her first reaction is rage: "She kicks. She screams. She wants to smash the world to smithereens. She roars a red, red roar." The fiery illustrations further convey Sophie's anger: Molly Bang uses a palette of intense orange and red hues and depicts Sophie's "roar" with a stream of fire coming out of her mouth, destroying everything in its path. This image — as well as that of Sophie as a volcano, ready to explode — is very effective and brings Sophie's anger to life.

Finally Sophie races outside — and runs until she's completely exhausted. Then she cries for a while. These are effective means of dealing with her anger, and she releases the worst of her rage in the process. Then Sophie starts to notice the comfort of nature that surrounds her. She climbs a tree and "she feels the breeze blow her hair. She watches the water and the waves."Consequently,Molly Bang's illustrations become more soothing — colored in white, greens, and blues — as Sophie appears to calm down. When Sophie feels better, she returns home to the loving welcome of her family.

By observing how Sophie reacts to — and copes with — her anger, parents, teachers, and children will be inspired to talk about all the different things people do when they're angry. When Sophie Gets Angry — Really, Really Angry... is a beautiful, useful book that shows kids that everybody gets angry now and then — but that they shouldn't let this frightening emotion get the best of them.

Reading level: Ages 3-7

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Emotion, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Family, Storytime

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our family had a good little laugh over this. We started reading this, and the nephew and I looked at each other and we said that Sophie is much like the niece when she gets mad. She is much better now, but that girl used to throw some of the best tantrums around. Sophie handles it in a great way. She explodes and then runs outside and climbs a big tree to look at the world. That’s great for living in the country, but in the city, it’s not really as easy to do that. The niece did not take kindly to us poking a little fun at her.

The artwork is not my favorite, but I do like that it shows and expresses Sophie’s emotions. This is a beginning book about dealing with anger.

The nephew thought it was funny and he gave this 4 stars. The niece was put off that we thought this was her and she gave this 2 stars.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe this won awards. Aside from the extremely unpleasant illustrations, I thought it sent a terrible message. Do we really want children running alone into the woods and climbing a tall tree every time they get angry? Plus, in an era where elopement is a problem with autistic kids who get overwhelmed, I don't think encouraging children to potentially get themselves lost in the woods is a great idea. (The fact that Sophie's sister is later seen playing with a bunch of puzzle pieces--the symbol for autism awareness--seems a bit ironic.) Even more disturbing is the fact that nobody bothers to go looking for her. She just goes home after she's cooled off, and everyone's happy to see her. But... what if she'd fallen out of that tree and broken her neck?

It's fine to teach kids to have an outlet for their anger, but there are better coping skills that won't put their lives in danger. I can't even recommend this for the illustrations. They're colourful, but they're rough and kind of garish.

This might have worked in another decade (and, in fact, it was written in the late 1990s), but it's a bit problematic for today. For books about kids getting angry, I'd recommend Sam's Pet Temper by Sangeeta Bhadra instead.

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not only do I totally and emotionally understand just why Sophie gets really, really angry, I also rather majorly consider the way that the mother has handled the entire scenario presented in Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry as a totally and epic PARENTING FAILURE. For honestly, considering that Sophie's sister just violently seems to grab the plush gorilla toy from Sophie while the latter is happily playing, it is not really if actually at all acceptable parenting wise for the mother to (at least in my humble opinion) basically and very strongly not only enable but to also actively condone this kind of bullying and sense of entitlement by not with even one word being critical of the behaviour of Sophie's sister and simply stating that it is the sister's turn and that therefore, her wresting the toy away from Sophie is seemingly even rather justified (because even if it might well be the sister's turn to play with the stuffed gorilla, there to and for me is just no justification whatsoever for the mother to consider the sister's behaviour as in any way appropriate and not being even remotely critical of her and in my opinion by this omission also equally rather casting considerable blame at Sophie, with indeed, the mother in When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry at best showing poor parenting skills and at worst demonstrating an obvious and noticeable emotional preference towards Sophie's sister).

And yes, while some readers say that they are uncomfortable with the fact that in When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry, it is shown by Molly Bang as being a positive for Sophie after her temper tantrum to run out of the door of her house and to remove herself from the scenario that originally made her so angry (until she has calmed down and is both willing and able to return home), my own issues with When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry are ONLY with regard to the in my opinion really unfortunate parenting that is being depicted and that yes, I do believe the mother does seem to rather prefer Sophie's sister, as why else would she not have at least taken the sister to task for simply yanking (and in a rather heavy handed manner) the gorilla toy away from Sophie (without any explanation except yelling that it is now her turn).

Now with regard to Molly Bang's accompanying artwork (for in When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry, Molly Bang acts as both author and illustrator), albeit that I do appreciate how Molly Bang's use of colour mirrors Sophie's changing emotions (from seething fire like anger to finally calming down and being no longer enraged), I have also not found the actual pictures themselves as being all that much to my visual tastes (and with in particular the way in which Molly bang has rendered her human arms feeling visually more than a bit off with regard to their physical dimensions). And yes, I do therefore also (coming from my own aesthetics) wonder why and how When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry ended up being awarded a Caldecott Honour designation, as I personally have just not found the illustrations all that special, all that remarkable.

[(NS) Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grade/Interest Level: Pre-K-1

Have you ever felt angry? Really, really angry? In this story, Sophie feels really, really angry when she has to share her toys with her little sister. Sophie runs away as far as she can, and eventually calms down as she finds comfort in nature.

This book uses bold colors and thick lines that really capture the emotions of anger and calm. The text is large with generous spacing, making it accessible to early readers. The theme of dealing with anger is certainly one that most everyone can relate to, and it invites the reader to make connections between their own lives and the text. My issue with this book is the plot choice for Sophie to run away from home, compounded by the fact that the illustrations make it look like she has ran much farther than her own backyard. Follow-up discussion with young children would be necessary to address the safety issues around Sophie's choice to run away.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book for helping kids cope with any angry feelings that they feel. The story depicts how a child can feel a very intense feeling and deal with it in an appropriate way, and, very importantly, shows how feelings don’t last, but pass. The book contains wonderful, colorful illustrations which really enhance the story.

[Agnė · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork works very well to convey the emotions, but it is VERY unappealing to look at...

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

In "When Sophie gets Angry-- Really, Really, Angry..." all you really see is a little girl showing her tale after not wanting to share with her sister, something that would earn my own children a pop on the bottom. I believe that this story could have been written better, with more details on what makes you feel angry, but also what it takes to calm down in the different situations- not just a little girl who runs away when she gets mad.

I was not impressed.

[Sophie Tran]

I had this book as a child...this explains a lot lol

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happily absorbed in her play, Sophie is unprepared when her sister grabs her toy gorilla, and absolutely infuriated when her mother points out that it is her sister's turn to play with it. Boiling over with rage, feeling like a volcano about to explode, Sophie does what she always does when she gets very, very angry: she runs...

Chosen as a Caldecott Honor book in 2000, When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry is illustrated in vibrant, primary colors that perfectly capture the emotional register of each scene. Sophie begins the story outlined in a happy yellow, but her quick descent into anger is accompanied by a red halo that grows with her rage, becoming almost another being - a red shadow being - as she throws a temper tantrum. As she slowly calms down, soothed by the quiet beauty of the natural world around her, her outline returns to less strident hues.

I really appreciated Molly Bang's use of color here, finding it very astute, and think her artwork will grab young readers' attention. That said, I have to agree with my friend Chandra, in wondering if it was really worthy of a nod from the Caldecott committee. I also had some mixed feelings about the story itself. While I applaud Bang's sympathetic portrait of a child's emotions, I wasn't sure I approved of the way in which the sibling conflict was resolved. I don't know about you, but when I get very angry, removing myself from the situation and calming down - while absolutely necessary - are just the first step. There needs to be discussion, possibly apologies, before everything is back to "normal." Still, despite these reservations, I think this is a good title to use with children, to explore handling strong anger.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of most stories that help kids deal with emotions.

[Liesl · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like most about this book is how it shows kids that it's okay and perfectly normal to get angry once in a while as long as you have an effective, healthy way to deal with said anger.

[Nichole Sedler]

Written by Molly Bang, illustrated by Molly Bang, published by, copyright year.

Summary: A 2000 Caldecott Honor book about a little girl with big temper, but who eventually calms down.

Response: Amazing, brilliantly colored illustrations help tell the story of Sophie’s mood. I think students, especially primary, would be attracted the bold illustrations and realistic image of how one feels when they are mad.

Possible Units: Character Ed: How to Deal with Feelings/Emotions. Art: Color, Line

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this are great, and most kids can relate pretty well to Sophie. I found, however, that while they relate to Sophie's temper tantrum at the beginning of the book, Sophie's solution to it -- to run into the woods and be alone for a while -- doesn't really scan with West Philadelphia preschoolers. They honestly don't seem to get it. Probably if Sophie went up to her room to be alone or hid in her closet or something, it would make more sense to them...

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This simple book has a short text dealing with Sophie's getting angry over having to share a stuffed gorilla with her sister. I like the way that the author/illustrator's colors match the child's mood--lots of loud, brash reds and yellows for her temper tantrum, and soft blues and greens for when she calms down. Although I am not a big fan of Bang's style of illustration, it does work effectively for this book.

[Latoya Sharaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book received the 2000 Caldecott Honor of the Charlotte Zolotow Award. This book was intended for children ages 5-7. This book is about a little girl, named Sophie, who gets really angry because it was her sister’s turn to play with the toy that Sophie had already played with. When she gets angry, she runs and runs until she is alone and works through her emotions alone before returning home. The reason why I rated this book with 4 stars is because it is a really good read for novice readers and is also a good lesson to teach children; how to deal with being angry. The only thing I didn’t like about the story is the fact that she ran out of the house, far away from home. That may put the wrong ideas in a child’s head when they do become angry and decide to run away at age 5. As long as the adult who is accompanying the child reading the story explains that the part about running away from home is unrealistic, I think the book will still serve a good purpose of explaining how to deal with your angry emotions alone. The illustrations are very simple and full of color. The sentences are kept short, with only 1-2 sentences per page, if any words at all. The text is more vibrant than the actual illustrations, complete with onomatopoeias. I think the pictures will draw the students into reading the book and then the content will keep them interested in the story as well as reading it on their own. This would be a great book to read to the entire class merged into a lesson about different feelings and emotions with little children.

[NS Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about a little girl who gets infuriated about her little brother taking her toy. The little brother not only snatches it form her, but her mother agrees that it is his turn to play with it. She is already upset about this situation when she trips over a truck. She is so angry that she has to do something to help calm her down. She goes for a long run to help regather her thoughts. She then describes relaxing outside, climbing a tree, and looking at the water to help her feel better. After she feels better she is ready to rejoin her family. She is happy when she returns home and her family is happy to have her.

This book should be used with younger students. It helps validate the feelings they have when they are angry and then helps them understand healthy ways to go about expressing those feelings. I read this book to my kindergarten class this afternoon. It fit in perfectly with the atmosphere of my classroom. Last week, as a class, we struggled with getting along and what to do when we were upest. Students were throwing crayons and yelling at each other. After reading and talking about this book I had students draw what they could do to help them calm down after being upset. I had wonderful pictures of students taking a walk, sitting on their beds reading, or enjoying quite time. I then had students share their drawings. I think it helped other students learn additional ways they could calm themselves down after being upset.

[Kirah Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. In this book, Sophie is playing with toys. Her mother makes her share a toy gorilla with her sister, but Sophie wasn't finished playing with it. She gets very upset she has to share. She kicks and screams. Then she runs and continues to run until she is surrounded by nature. She climbs a tree and is calmed down by observing the nature around her. After she is calmed down, she returns home, and everything is back to normal.
2. I would say appropriate grade level for this book would be pre-k to 1st grade at most. It has a moderate interest level. I think the students would enjoy the picture. This book's lexile is very low, so it is for beginning readers.
3. I think this would be a good book to use in a lesson plan about handling emotions. You could ask the students if Sophie's actions were appropriate and further the lesson by having them tell what techniques they use to calm themselves when they are angry.
4. I think this book would be good for all young learners. It would be a good social story to present to help students understand how to handle emotions, especially anger.
5. Since this is a beginning level book, I don't think it would be good for use in small groups.
6. I think this book would be excellent for group read aloud. It's very colorful and has great illustrations.
7. Some books related are Sometimes I'm a Bombaloo, When I feel Angry, My Mouth is a Volcano, and Glad Monster, Sad Monster.
8. This book comes in Kindle version and audio book.

[Marcelaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a little girl who gets incredibly angry and is able to calm down by running outside and observing nature. While I think this is a great coping mechanism (I often encourage my kids to go outside to calm down when they are angry), I was annoyed at the way the mom handled the sharing incident at the beginning of the book. Sophie's younger sister took away a toy that Sophie was playing with and said, "My turn!" and their mother took the younger sister's side and insisted that Sophie had to share. It's a really common approach among parents and I don't think it's right. Adults don't get to take things from other adults just because they want it/are tired of waiting/are younger, and it's not right to ask this of children. My children don't get to take away toys without asking just because they want a turn or feel they've been waiting a long time, and if they do I make them give it back and either ask nicely or wait until the other person is done. (If the other child is hogging a toy to be spiteful that's a different matter, but generally the scenario is that they're in the middle of a game or project.) The book is supposed to be about how Sophie calms down, and for that purpose it's okay, but the "You have to share" bit at the beginning was irritating to me. Also, the illustrations are interesting, but hard on the eyes.

[Barbara Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text-to-Text Connection: How is the topic, theme, or story elements connected to a different children’s book?

Anger and how we express our anger is the theme of this children's book. The main character Sophie becomes angry over her sister taking a toy she was playing with and Sophie lets her anger get the better of her. "She kicks. She screams. She wants to smash the world to smithereens. She roars a red, red roar." Sophie eventually calms down and everything goes back to normal, but how she expressed her anger is what connected me to another book titled "How Do Dinosaurs Say I'M MAD?". This book covers different ways dinosaurs express their anger and if what they're doing is acceptable. At the end of the book, the dinosaurs choose other ways to express their anger which are acceptable to do and safe. What I love about these two books is that they normalize the emotion "anger" and show different ways it could be expressed. They also show that the feelings anger brings will pass with time and how to cope until it does.

[Bernice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a young girl that gets very angry after her younger sister takes away her toy. Her voice is seen in the illustrations through her screams that are fill up the entire page. To release her anger she runs away and finds peace with the nature that surrounds her. It is then that she is able to return back home and find that everything is back to normal. Sophie is the highlight of the story and we see her emotions come out through the bright colors that are splashed on all the pages. It seems as if the colors are brought to life depending on how she feels on each page. There is a mix of paints with a crayon like texture. There are bendable shapes throughout the story that form all the different parts of the designs. The characterization of Sophie is simplistic and there is little depth in the building of her personality.

[NS- Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one that I had seen in the library many times and passed by without opening it. It is an adorable book with a terrific message. I plan to use this in my classroom in order to introduce a discussion about how to react when you are feeling angry. I have one particular student who has very little coping skills when he is angry and/or sad so I think this book would be especially good for him but also for the whole group.

In the story, Sophie becomes very angry with her sister who takes the toy she was using. She leaves the house and basically goes for a walk in order to "cool down." When she returns home she is calm and able to interact normally with her family members. I think this story sends a very useful message to young students.

[Linda Lipko]

Of the Caldecott honor and medal books I've read thus far, this one is not stellar or even mediocre.

The illustrations seem harsh and bright, they are very hard on the eyes!
Sophie cannot control her anger and she kicks, screams and wants to smash "the world to smithereens."

She runs, she cries and then she discovers the beauty of nature and calms down. She returns home and is welcomed and everyone is glad she's home.

End of story....but....in the "real" world perhaps Sophie should be reprimanded and reminded that she is not the only one in the world and her emotional fits impact on others.

Perhaps childhood is the time to learn this valuable lesson in order for a mature adult to develop.

[Anna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story Summary: Sophie is a young girl that doesn't like to share! One afternoon she is playing with a toy in her room and her sister asked to play with it because it was her turn. Sophie's sister took the toy and this made Sophie so angry that she left her home and went on a very long walk! She climbed a tree and watched the ocean and felt the breeze. She soon calmed down and went back home where her family was waiting for her.
Grade: 1st-3rd
Classroom: Lesson over interactions with others and feelings
Individual: A child who doesn't handle their feelings well or needs to find their own happy place.
Whole Classroom: Read the book aloud and then ask the students what their happy place is.
Multimedia: n/a
Related Books: All books from Sophie Series
Awards: Caldecott Medal

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 3-year-old daughter's new favorite book. She is enthralled by how angry Sophie gets, yet her choice is to run. Please note that when Sophie kicks, she doesn't connect with anyone. But she is spitting mad and her biggest release is to run hard and fast and commune with nature. My daughter is fixated on why it is that Sophie cries after she is so angry. This a beautiful way to capture that anger is actually hurt. Resolution is critical to a young reader. My daughter loves how Sophie paints a portrait of her family. She has an easel just like Sophie's. This is a great book for distilling the complexity of anger into an understandable form for a young preschooler.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot I read (and wrote a lesson plan for) this book! It was over Thanksgiving break, when I had about, oh, a hundred assignments to work on simultaneously. I actually read it on ICDL, which is a great resource for kids books.

Sophie reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are in that fantasy and reality blend, and the emotions of the children transcend their situations into the world of imagination. It's a good story about how kids deal with their anger. And the illustrations are Van Gogh-esque, which I don't get to say often.

[Sydney Funk · Rating 1 out of 5]

• When Sophie gets angry she runs away from home. As she runs she calms herself down with the peaceful surrounding of nature.
• K-2nd
• This could be used in an English class.
• This could be used with students that need help controlling their anger.
• This book can be used in a group to help students identify character traits.
• After reading this book, students can discuss ways that they calm down when they are upset. What advice would they give Sophie?
• Other books like this include: Ella Sarah gets dressed
• This book is available in hardcover , paper back and ebook.

[Katy Houseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to use when you have children who may get angry easily or who just don`t know how to deal with anger. Everyone deals with anger in differnt ways. This book can act as a conversation starter on ways to deal with anger.

[Ashlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really, Angry… written by Molly Bang, is a children’s book about a young girl who was playing with her toy when her sister grabbed it and took it from her because it was her turn to play with it. Sophie got extremely angry so she left the house and ran to her favorite tree and climbed it until she calmed down. Then she went back to her house and her family was very happy to see her.
The cover of this book is very bright yellow with a picture of Sophie’s angry face that takes up most of the cover. This book received the Caldecott honor award, it does not say how it was illustrated but it looks like it was painted. The illustrations are very vibrant and all characters have are outlined in a bright color. The text looks as if it is hand written and does not have a border it is just written on top of the illustration. The illustrations bleed out to the edge of the page. There are also very illustrative captions describing sounds like “ROAR”, and “PABAM!” throughout the book.
I really enjoyed this book because I think kids can relate to it. Everyone gets angry at times and has their own way of expressing it and everyone has different outlets. My favorite thing about this book is on the end page the author writes, “When Sophie gets angry, she runs out and climbs her favorite tree. Different people handle anger in different ways. What do you do when you get angry?”

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The different outline colors are striking, and reinforce the mood of the pictures. The jagged yellow outlines of the gorilla and the cat make them look electrified. I like that the book isn't proscriptive: there's no insinuation that Sophie's way is better or worse than any others, then on the copyright page, that is explicitly stated. I wonder if many people miss that because they don't read dedications and copyright pages and such.

Library copy

[Jasmine Jones (EDUC378)]

Text-to-self Connection

This story reminds me so much of my six year old son. When he does not get his way, he tends to get really upset and stomp around the house. I usually ask him to go into his room to calm down and within a couple of minutes of being isolated, he comes back calm. My son was having the same issues in the classroom last year and his teacher actually gave him this book to read because she said it would help him calm down!