The Bad Mood and the Stick

by Lemony Snicket, Matthew Forsythe (Illustrator)

Overview

★ "Snicket fans will love this book."―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

New York Times bestselling author Lemony Snicket sheds light on the way bad moods come and go.

Once there was a stick and a bad mood.
The stick was on the ground,
and the bad mood was with a girl named Curly.

Lemony Snicket offers a refreshing and hilarious look at the ways in which a bad mood wreaks havoc as it moves from person to person, leaving an unexpected trail of surprise in its wake: opportunities for laughter, forgiveness and even love.
 
From a bestselling author and an acclaimed artist comes a witty and wise take on the emotional forces that impact our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316392785
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	413,508
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include All the Wrong Questions, A Series of Unfortunate Event, The Dark, and Swarm of Bees.
 
Matthew Forsythe is the award-winning author and illustrator of the books, Pokko and the Drum and Mina. He was also the lead designer on the animated show, Adventure Time at Cartoon Network, and the Oscar-nominated film, Robin Robin. He lives in Los Angeles.

Hometown:

Snicket is something of a nomad. Handler lives in San Francisco, California.

Date of Birth:

February 28, 1970

Place of Birth:

Handler was born in San Francisco in 1970, and says Snicket's family has roots in a land that's now underwater.

Education:

Handler is a 1992 graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Website:

http://www.lemonysnicket.com

Editorial Reviews

One problem all kids, and people who are no longer kids, can understand is the vicissitude of mood—the way human happiness is fleeting, sadness inevitable. It takes a special writer to grapple with this and still come up with an interesting book, and Lemony Snicket is a special writer. He writes with clarity as well as complexity, and can bounce from silly to serious quickly and easily…Yes, Snicket has his shtick: ponderous character names, an air of the old-fashioned, unlikely plot twists. But these are deployed to winning effect in The Bad Mood and the Stick…

The New York Times Book Review - Rumaan Alam

08/28/2017
Curly wears overalls and two poofy pigtails. Her expression is stormy. A multicolored bad mood hovers above her like a cloud. Then she pokes her brother with a stick and cheers right up. Curly’s mother has the bad mood now; then it moves to a man named Lou, and from there “all over the world. You yourself had it several times.” All kinds of feelings prove contagious in Snicket’s story; the lowly stick spreads cheer in Curly’s town the way the bad mood spreads gloom. The story traces how chance knits together the lives of Curly, her family, Lou, Lou’s dry cleaner, and the ice cream man. Snicket doesn’t paper over the way the discomfort of others can turn a bad mood around; at the same time, he celebrates generosity, community, and the workings of fate (“You never know what is going to happen”). Forsythe’s sherbet-hued images combine big cartoon gestures with rich color. Snicket’s quirky narrative voice and observations of events both great and lowly make this a fine readaloud—and a sure cure for a bad mood. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

* "Snicket fans will love this book."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Expressive action-filled illustrations [will] make the reader giggle and frown."—School Library Connection, starred review

"Snicket's quirky narrative voice and observations of events both great and lowly make this a fine readaloud—and a sure cure for a bad mood."—Publishers Weekly

"A cheerfully wacky read-aloud sure to brighten listeners' moods."—School Library Journal

"This light take on a negative feeling may be useful to adults working with children."—Horn Book

"[The Bad Mood and the Stick] offers a playful way to talk about feelings we've all experienced."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Cause and effect get the Snicket treatment in this amusing tale. Because of the bad mood—visually represented as a frowning, multicolored cloud—Curly pokes her brother with the stick. Instead of following the familiar arc of her misbehavior, regret, and reconciliation, the story veers into unexpected territory: the poking completely cheers up Curly and the bad mood transfers to Curly's mother. (Parents will groan in utter recognition.) The bad mood and the stick then go on to affect other characters across the town, resulting in a wedding attended by "everyone in this book." All of this unfolds in the understated voice that Snicket does so well, particularly with the slyly funny repeated phrase "You never know what is going to happen." Forsythe's thickly outlined gouache, ink, and pencil illustrations add retro flair to the story. The various white- and brown-skinned humans resemble Peanuts characters with their heavy outlines, circular heads, and cartoonishly simple yet expressive faces. Pair with Fortunately by Remy Charlip and discuss predictions, or with Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for more on bad moods and their causes. VERDICT A cheerfully wacky read-aloud sure to brighten listeners' moods.— Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2017-08-21
A bad mood dogs different people in turn, while the fate of a stick dropped from a tree seems to move the bad mood along. Curly, a little redheaded, white girl out for a walk with her mother and brother, is carrying around a bad mood (depicted as a multicolored cloud with a frowny face) because although they passed an ice cream shop two hours earlier, they didn't get any ice cream. She finds a stick that had been dropped by a tree the night before and uses it to poke her little brother. She feels better, but now her scolding mother is carrying the bad mood. And so the bad mood moves on from her mother to a carpenter to a cat, to other animals and people, and the stick experiences a similar fate until it gains a new enhancement and is given a place of prominence, while the bad mood sails on. Snicket's story takes unexpected turns and reveals delightful surprises, told with smart, silly language and cheeky asides; every page blooms with beautiful artwork done in bright, colorful gouache washes and featuring charming, 1960s-style animal and human characters. There's even an interracial love story interwoven along the way. Snicket's fans will love this book, but readers need never have read a single word by the author to appreciate the wonderfully presented universality of the bad mood and how quickly a little thing can chase it away—or beckon it upon us. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews