I Was So Mad

Little Critter is having a rough day. His mom won't let him keep frogs in the bathtub, his dad won't let him play in his sister's too-small dollhouse, and his grandparents refuse to allow him to paint the house or play hide-and-seek in the clean sheets. He is just so mad about it all. After having his wishes shut down repeatedly, even though he thinks they are perfectly reasonable requests, he has had enough. Little Critter decides to run away. As he is packing, though, his friends come over to ask him to play. Little Critter decides he isn't so mad that he has to leave that day, after all.

The story and illustrations work together well to capture a child's perspective. The author never apologizes for Little Critter's irrational anger, show more even though the reader clearly understands why all the adults are commanding Little Critter to stop engaging in activities that have negative consequences. Instead, the story shows children that everyone gets angry, and that it is okay to experience that emotion. Also, the ending shows children that no matter how strong the anger is, it will pass. This isn't a story to teach children how to handle their anger, but to show them that anger is normal, and doesn't last forever. Children will relate to the childish antics and Little Critter's reactions, and adults can appreciate the humor and the way the pictures complement the text. Another great picture book from Little Critter's world. show less

This book from Mercer Mayer's "Little Critter" series tells the story of how Little Critter keeps trying to do things, like keeping frogs in the bathtub or playing the newly cleaned sheets, and the adults in his life keep saying NO! Little Critter lives in a pretty typical little house, much like the houses of many students which make the stories relatable, yet him being a little monster makes him funny to kids. He also has emotions just like they have -- students are told "NO' all the time, especially at school, and they can understand how frustrating it is to be told they cannot do "fun" things. This could be used in a younger classroom for a unit on emotions and how they effect students differently. A discussion question could be show more about different ways to calm down when they are mad and different strategies for expressing anger. show less

I enjoyed this book for a variety of reasons. The illustrations in this story are very detailed. These detailed illustrations added humor and little features which are not found from reading the text alone. The illustrations highlight the emotions that each character is experiencing better than the text alone does. In addition, I liked that this book had a plot that was easy for children to relate to. Children often experience times when they are mad at their parents for not letting them do things they want to do. Little Critter experiences this repeatedly throughout the book such as when he wants to put frogs in the bathtub or paint the side of the house. The main idea is that you can’t always get everything that you want. This is show more sometimes a hard message for children to grasp. In the story, Little Critter got frustrated with his parents when they repeatedly told him no but in the end he got to play with his friends which is what he wanted to do most of all. show less

I get mad a lot. Who doesn't, in this bleak and cruel world? This book helps. It's hard to stay so mad when you're looking at these cute tiny monsters. I hope my heart never gets so old that I stop loving Mercer Mayer.

In I Was So Mad, Mercer Mayer shows what kids feel like after they keep getting told no and feel like no one is listening. The main character asks if he can keep the frogs in the bathtub, play in his little sisters dollhouse, and water the garden but he keeps getting told no and you can feel the anger. Mayer uses repetition, like saying "I was so mad,” which helps readers understand how strong and constant those feelings are. The pictures help the readers understand better too, they show the character’s emotions in a way that is relatable. By the end, the character learns that even when things do not go the way they want, there are still ways to have fun, like playing with friends at the park.

I Was So Mad by Mercer Mayer shows ways that kids can feel after getting told they can’t or no, or even when they feel like they are just talking to nobody. The themes of this book revolve around anger. During the story the author uses repetition, as in the text over and over “I was so mad” was repetitively said. By repetitively saying those words over and over it shows how that emotion was strongly there and shown through constant saying of it. In the end this book is able to teach young readers that sometimes you don’t always get what you want and that it’s okay to explore other ways and do other things.

Print is clear and only one sentence per page. This book is about a boy who wanted to do all these different things, but adults kept telling him "no". He was so angry that he said he was going to run away. The illustrations do a great job of showing the emotions being felt by the character. In the end, his friends had shown up and asked if he could go play ball. When he was told he could, he was happy and went to play. This book is good at showing that, even though things might not go how you want, things can get better; however, I wish that it had more on how to deal with the emotion. All-in-all, not a bad book for children and the illustrations are fun to look at.