The Bad Mood and the Stick | 
Trying to get my new 2nd grader on the road to reading. He is having horrible anxiety when it comes to reading and starting 2nd grade. Poor kiddo!!! So we decided on a trip the Kirkland Town Libary.
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Trying to get my new 2nd grader on the road to reading. He is having horrible anxiety when it comes to reading and starting 2nd grade. Poor kiddo!!! So we decided on a trip the Kirkland Town Libary.
panCanadian Matthew Forsythe‘s retro art is wonderful, but I cannot recommend this #picturebook. I like that the subject is the unpredictable nature of emotions: a bad mood—a frowning multicolour cloud—skips around to different characters. I don‘t like the meanness: poke your brother with a stick, or laugh at someone falling, to make the bad mood go away. Worst is the interracial power dynamic: man imposes his will against a woman & she loves it.
This guy Lou completely disregards the dry cleaner woman‘s direct orders. On the next page, he‘s down to his underwear. On the next page, the woman (Mrs Durham—married? A widow?) immediately falls in love with him and their marriage is a celebratory two-page spread near the end of the book. What kind of message does this send to preschoolers, the intended audience for this #picturebook? I‘m horrified.
Laughing at someone else‘s misfortune. That‘s enough to put me in a bad mood.
