The Bad Mood - Moritz Petz - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Moritz Petz
ILLUSTRATOR: Amelie Jackowski
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
PUBLICATION DATE: July 22, 2004
RATING: 4.5 stars.


What a wonderful book this is! A simple story with a fabulous message.

Badger has woken up in a really bad mood. (I so empathise with him. Mornings can be tough!) As he goes along his day, he rebuffs all friends who attempt to chat with him. While his mood improves as the day progresses, he realises that his friends are now in a grumpy mood, all thanks to him.

The story is written in simple prose and fairly easy vocabulary. Early readers should be able to handle the book independently as well. There are many expressive dialogues so this will be a treat for read-alouds. I loved the illustrations too. They are so vibrant! The animals are drawn in such an expressive manner that you can gauge their mood just by looking at them.

The only minor complaint I have is that the dissolution of Badger’s bad mood happens within the span of a sentence. It seemed too abrupt and kids wouldn’t really realise how there was a sudden turnaround in his feelings. This is where discussion with an adult would help. After all, we understand mood swings better than kids do and need to assist them on how to handle bad moods as a realistic and regular part of life.

I have a feeling this book is going to be useful for adults too, so don’t forget to read this along with your kiddos. It has a lesson that all of us need to remember. You might just save yourself (and others) from having a bad day. ;)

Heartily recommended for families, schools and libraries.

Thank you to NorthSouth Books Inc. and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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