5 Books About Tantrums!

No Fits, Nilson!, by Zachariah OHora
Nilson and Amelia are the best of friends; the kind of friends who go everywhere and do everything together. But when things don’t go his way, Nilson will sometimes throw a gorilla-sized tantrum. When one of these tantrums results in both Amelia and Nilson serving a time out, Amelia makes it her mission to teach Nilson how to better handle his emotions. Throughout the story, we see Amelia using all the familiar parenting techniques—modeling, complimenting good behavior, offering incentives, making good eye contact. Little Amelia is every parent’s dream. But a surprise twist on the ending makes this story unique and reminds us that sometimes we all need a little help controlling those big emotions.

Finn Throws a Fit!, by David Elliott and Timothy Basil Ering
Here’s a tantrum situation parents are well familiar with: When you offer your child his favorite food, only to discover that it has suddenly become the absolute most detested, disgusting, inedible thing ever to appear on his plate. That’s exactly what happens when Finn’s mother gives him peaches. Any other day, Finn loves peaches. But not on this day. On this day, Finn doesn’t like anything, most certainly not peaches. The resulting fit rocks the house (literally and figuratively), using the imagery of natural disasters, until suddenly the storm is over. Finn calms. The waters recede, the house is put back to order. And Finn decides he likes peaches after all.

Mouse Was Mad, by Linda Urban and Henry Cole
Everybody expresses their anger in different ways. Bear stomps. Bobcat screams. Hedgehog rolls on the ground. But none of these work for Mouse. Not only does he look silly, but every failure just makes him madder. What’s a mouse to do? When mouse finally discovers his own way to express his anger, it’s unintentional, and different than that of any of the other animals. And yet, his expression is impressive in its own way and all the other animals stop to stare in awe. A good book for discussing how emotions can be displayed in many ways.

Here Comes Destructosaurus!, by Aaron Reynolds and Jeremy Tankard
Anybody who has witnessed a toddler tantrum will appreciate the Godzilla-esque parallel drawn here. Stomping! Roaring! Destruction! What parent doesn’t have a story of a household item (or one that was in the shopping cart and never even made it to the house) that fell victim to a toddler’s wrath? No amount of begging, pleading, or threatening stops Destructosaurus until finally, the root of his frustration is discovered. Only then can the monster be soothed, tamed, and the world set right again. Next up: naps.

Llama Llama Mad At Mama, by Anna Dewdney
Llama hates grocery shopping (my guess is it doesn’t rank high on Mama’s list, either). But shopping needs to be done, so off they go. As they move through the store, Llama grows increasingly frustrated, until he’s in the midst of a full-on tantrum, the kind that sends juice squirting, snacks flying, and carts crashing. Surely this will get him his way? Instead Mama takes the high road, patiently acknowledging Llama’s frustration, calming him down, and guiding him to clean up the mess. Well done, Mama Llama. We’re all taking notes.