When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry...

Bang, M. (1999). When Sophie gets angry--Really, really angry.... New York: Blue

Sky Press.

This picture book fits within the realistic fiction genre, because it is a story that is easily relatable and could certainly take place. Sophie is a little girl who struggles to keep her anger in control. First, she is forced to share her stuffed animal with her sister. Then, she trips and falls. Her anger escalates and escalates to the point that she runs away, which is the way she best deals with her frustration. She runs outside and finally calms down as she takes in the world around her.

This is a Caldecot Honor book for its incredibly powerful illustrations. The author shows Sophie’s anger with use of jagged lines and warm colors—reds, yellows, and oranges. Short, choppy sentences are also used to represent this intense emotion and disruption of peace. (“She kicks. She screams.”) However, when Sophie begins to calm down as she admires her surroundings, cool colors are used to show that she is beginning to relax. Additionally, horizontal lines are used in the water to show this same sense of tranquility.

In my opinion, the conflict in this story is person-against-person and person-against-self. Sophie gets very angry and upset when her sister takes her stuffed animal (which relates to the person-against-person conflict). Then, though, she struggles to cope with her own anger, which relates to person-against-self. She does, in fact, find a way to calm herself by taking in her surroundings.

This is just an incredible story to use with all children, but especially those who struggle to express their emotions in an appropriate way. Every child needs to understand that it’s okay to feel angry, sad, mad, or frustrated. Everyone experiences these emotions at some point in life. It’s how we deal with these emotions that is important. We must learn to express our emotions in a safe and healthy way—whether it’s through deep breathing, walking, running, even screaming into a pillow. I can think of one student in my classroom that would benefit tremendously from hearing this story and discussing it at length.

To boost comprehension, I would lead a discussion on good ways/bad ways to deal with anger. I found this “Hulk Smash” idea on Pinterest. Students must identify various statements as good ways (thumbs-up) or bad ways (thumbs-down) to deal with anger.

Here are some questions/prompts I would use to facilitate discussion of this story:

1.    Share a time that you felt angry.

2.    How did you deal with that anger?

3.    Did Sophie deal with her anger in a safe, effective way?

4.    What are some other safe ways to deal with anger?

5.    Can you share some unsafe, negative ways to deal with anger?