Anger and frustration can be difficult emotions for children to understand and manage. these children’s books can help.
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You are reading: Children’s books about anger
“That’s not fair!”
“That’s mine!”
“I’m not good at this!”
How many times have we heard our children shout statements like these?
These comments often come from a place of intense feelings and may be followed by hitting, kicking, or inappropriate behavior.
feelings like these can be confusing and scary for kids.
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It’s natural to feel angry and frustrated at times, but helping children understand their strong emotions, and especially how to deal with these emotions, gives them life skills that will pay off for the rest of their lives.
Talking with children about these intense feelings can help, but books and stories can also help children recognize their feelings and help them understand appropriate ways to respond in times of anger or frustration.
12 children’s books on how to handle strong emotions
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I’m furious
matt is justifiably angry. His little brother, Andy, took one of his baseball cards, wrote on it, and then somehow the card ended up in the toilet. As the children begin to confront each other, Mom walks in, acknowledging Matt’s anger and helping him think about how he might respond to her brother. This book takes on a choose-your-own-adventure quality with its six divergent story lines, helping kids see how different responses to anger can lead to different outcomes.
I hate everything!
sam is angry about everything: how his little brother cries, how his father doesn’t have time for him, how they ask him to eat carrots, and how someone else got the piece of cake they wanted. When his anger flares up at a birthday party, Sam’s aunt pulls him aside and gives him some anger management strategies.
how to get the grrrr out of anger
This book is a bit like a self-help book for children on how to manage anger. It begins by defining anger and then describes strategies for dealing with anger. Some of the chapters include: “The Different Faces of Anger,” “Six Steps to Resolving Anger Problems,” and “Great Ways to Stay Calm.”
calm down and get over anger
Through pictures and a story, this book helps children understand and recognize anger, then helps them find strategies to manage anger, and finally demonstrates ways anger can be resolved.
when I feel angry
This book follows the story of a girl who experiences anger when someone makes fun of her, when she has to clean her room, or when she just can’t make a picture look right. “Anger is a strong, hot feeling,” the book says, and sometimes when we are angry we want to say something mean, yell, or hit. but wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things. then the book provides some suggestions on what children can do to manage their anger and calm down.
when thousands got angry
miles gets upset when his brother breaks his favorite toy. and as anger grows within him, miles sees himself in the mirror, but instead of seeing miles, he sees a furry red monster staring back at him. the monster encourages thousands to use his words to express his anger, helping thousands to calm down.
crazy is not bad: a children’s book about anger
it’s okay to be angry, we all do it from time to time, what matters is what we do with our anger. we have choices about how to handle anger. This book teaches children what anger feels like and then introduces healthy ways to handle anger.
when sophie gets angry – very, very angry
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sophie gets very upset when her sister takes away a toy she was playing with. she so angry that she kicks, screams and roars. when she sophie gets mad, she runs, as far as she can. she then cries and then calms down with nature and the cool breeze she blows in her hair. Once Sophie settles down, she returns to the warmth of home.
llama llama mad at mom
the little llama has fun playing when his mom tells him it’s time to go shopping. then calls falls asleep in the car and wakes up when he and mom arrive at the store. shopping is no fun and llama has had enough. he suddenly starts whining and then throwing things. mom says “enough is enough!” and she also recognizes that she too thinks shopping is boring, so they try to turn shopping into a game. (While this book talks about anger, it doesn’t clearly explain how kids can handle their anger.)
happy hippo, angry duck
Sandra Boynton’s playful sing-along book for young children covers all kinds of moods: an angry duck, a sad hen, a grumpy moose, and a worried rabbit, to name a few. At the end of the story, all the characters in the book say that “I hope you are happy”, but if you are not, you have friends who can help you. They also declare that a difficult mood is not here to stay and remember that everyone’s mood changes from day to day.
zach gets frustrated
zach is having a bad day visiting the beach. first, he dropped his toothbrush in the toilet, then his best friend went to someone else’s birthday party instead of going with him. and to top it off, he can’t fly his kite! Zach kicks up the sand, gets mad, and finally asks his dad if they can go home. At this point, his dad teaches Zach a three-step approach to managing frustration and finding a way to have fun even if things don’t go his way.
sally simon simmons super frustrating day
Sally is determined to build the tallest double-decker sandwich, but when her efforts fail, she becomes frustrated and wants to give up. With the help of her teacher, Sally learns that it takes patience and practice to achieve desired goals.
You may also be interested in:
14 children’s books that promote a growth mindset
12 children’s books that teach perseverance
11 children’s books on why it’s okay to be different
10 children’s books on how to be brave in the face of adversity
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