Summary- This book is about a boy named Anh who gets angry when his grandfather tells him to stop playing for dinner. Anh goes into his bedroom after yelling at his grandfather and then a creature appears telling Anh that he is his anger. Anh and his anger work through what being angry is like and ways to help calm anger down. Eventually Anh's anger goes away and Anh apologizes to his grandfather for how he acted.
Genre- This book is fantasy because Anh's anger comes to live in a creature which doesn't happen in real life.
Age- K-3
Media- Paper and silk collages combined with brush and pencil drawings.

Published by Plum Blossom Books, the children's book imprint of Parallax Press (the publishing wing of the Unified Buddhist Church), and recommended on the back cover by Thich Nhat Hanh], Anh's Anger offers a Buddhist approach to dealing with a common childhood problem. When Anh's grandfather asks him to leave the block tower he is building, and come to dinner, the young boy becomes terribly angry, eventually destroying his own creation. Seeing that his grandson is overcome, Grandfather sends Anh to his room, to "sit with" his anger. And so begins an unexpected encounter, as Anh and his anger interact and come to an understanding...

I really liked the fact that being angry is not condemned in this story, but is seen as a natural (and inevitable) part of the human experience, something to be understood and accepted. Part of that understanding is the recognition that anger, when unleashed against others, is hurtful, and that withdrawing, when in such a state, to think things over and reach a calmer frame of mind, is a good strategy. I've often regretted speaking or acting in anger, but I've never regretted waiting to speak, until my anger had cooled, so although I am not a Buddhist myself, I really identified with the behavioral practice advocated here. I also greatly appreciated Christiane Kromer's vivid collage artwork, with its bright colors and dramatic shapes. Ahn's anger is actually pretty awesome!

All in all, this picture-book is an engaging look at an emotional state we have all experienced, at one point or another, and offers an intelligent, thoughtful course of action to take, in response to that state. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories that address anger, mindfulness, or Buddhist practice. ( )

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.