Cecily Kaiser

I wasn't fond of this variation on the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song when I first read it twenty years ago -- even though my four-year-old daughter enjoyed it -- but I really liked it today.

It's a nice way to remind yourself of anger management techniques, and the story shows different kids in the same classroom having different moments of anger for different reasons instead of putting it all on one angry kid, showing that we all get angry sometimes and sometimes for good show more reasons.

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Rated "Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod; rated "Good" by Adelia. show less

I liked this book for multiple reasons. The book addresses how to cope with feelings of anger and alternatives to bad behavior. It addresses how to deal with anger through rhyming and a sing-song theme/element that emphasizes vocabulary and sentence strength for beginning readers. The illustrations and sentence structure make it easy for the reader to follow along and make inferences about what is going on in the pictures on each page. For instance, the book uses the phrase "If you're angry show more and you know it…" repeatedly throughout the book. Each page details a different instance where a student/child is anger or having a difficult time coping with their feelings. Even if the students reading the book are having difficulty comprehending the text, they will be able to easily make inferencing about what is happening according to the illustrations. The repetitive language also helps students to recognize key phrases and words in the text. Another reason I liked this book is that the solutions to coping with anger are highlighted in bolder text, so the reader can more easily comprehend the big idea of the story. The big idea/message of the story is how to deal with anger, understanding perspectives (why you or some of your friends may feel angry from time to time), and moral development show less

Kids are liable to be angry at times, but they also need to learn how to deal with these feelings, learning about what is socially acceptable and responsible reactions. This short book, based on the song "If You're Happy and You Know It", gives helpful hints on how to handle and work through anger and other frustrating emotions.
The full page illustrations, overlaid with the text, are done in a warm range of pastels. The moments of anger are illustrated only, while the reactions are show more explicitly written and depicted, giving good reinforcement. This helpful book also sets the action to a familiar tune, one that readers in Grades K-1 will be able to sing to themselves if they are in similar situations. show less

Using the tune from your happy and you know this books shows kids what they should do when they are angry. It tells them to stomp their feet, walk away and take a deep breath. This book is great at teaching children how to express their anger.