[.uk] Don't Rant and Rave on Wednesdays!: The Children's ... (ISBN 0933849540)

I would neither rant nor rave about this okay book:
What it is: This is a short (61 pages), easy-to-read book, with lots of colorful drawings, that is aimed at helping children, ages four to eight, deal with anger. Each page features a few sentences and drawings to fit the text. It starts by describing anger and its possible consequences, depending upon how it is expressed. The book then helps "normalize" the feeling by talking about how everyone gets angry at times. It moves on to give some ideas of what to do, and what not to do, to deal with anger in better ways. What it does well: This book does a good job of portraying anger as a normal emotion, and that will resistant or defensive ("I am not mad! Stop saying that!") children acknowledge their own anger. It also opens the discussions on what the experience of anger is, and the possible consequences of expressing anger in aggressive or destructive ways. To a lesser extent, it also opens the door on discussing what are constructive things to do when angry. The best idea in the what-to-do mode relates to describing healthy ways to use the energy associated with being angry. The kids will like the illustrations, as they are colorful and they clearly relate to the ideas of the accompanying text. That makes this a good read-along book. What it does not-so-well: After opening the door on discussing several important topics, the follow-through is often weak. When describing the experience of anger, the book mentions a little about common thoughts, and about how thoughts, feelings, and physical responses are interconnected, but then it just moves on, too quickly. Much more could have been done with this area, with only a few more sentences, a few more pages, and a few more drawings. The thinking associated with anger is just touched upon, and needed more discussion, especially related to pairing up new thoughts with new activities, to try to deflate the anger. This is mentioned, but glossed over. Then count-to-ten method is mentioned, but this often does not work, as it is started too late in the anger-escalation process. That is why the early signs of anger needed more description in the book, as that would create the opportunity to prevent escalation. Another area that is introduced, but then glossed over, is how no one can make another person angry. By just mentioning this, without explaining it, the book opens the door for the child to cite numerous examples to dispute the idea (e.g., "But my sister always kicks me when no one is looking!"). More discussion of the distinction between provoking behavior from others, versus angry responses to such behavior, would have made the book better. Another lost opportunity! How to best use this tool: This book is a good "launching pad" for discussing anger with children. An adult could read it to a four-year-old (with the child following the pictures); an adult and a six-year-old could read it together, and an eight-year-old could read it to the adult. An eight-year-old will need ancillary enriching discussion, or the child might dismiss the book as being for little kids, depending upon his or her reading level. I would suggest that a parent or therapist have a good plan of how to add on to what the book says, before reading it with a child. In that way, the adult could use the book to introduce the basic concepts, and then move into a constructive discussion. A good way to prepare for such a discussion is for that would be for the adult to first read either The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children or Transforming the Difficult Child. Chris McCallister, Ph.D., Child Psychologist

Just what I was looking for:
This book is just right for children who struggle with controlling their anger. My 5 year old son is so engaged with the book, he carries it around and asks everyone to read it with him. I think it's reassuring to him that he is not the only one who struggles with anger. We also bought "Don't feed the monster on Tuesdays" He really enjoys that book as well, he is a little perfectionist and the book helps him to have a more relaxed approach to things going wrong and making mistakes. I love the books and can see me ordering the others soon.

Amazingly Effective:
This was practically magic. My daughter is 5.5 years old with ODD and Conduct Disorder. Her temper has been out of control practically since birth. We have been working with her fairly intensely for the last 6 months on her behavior. With us working with her and her school in the last 6 months, we've gone over concepts and techniques with her on how to handle her anger, but she only used them intermittently - showing some progress, but not enough, so we boutht this book at the recomendation of the school psychologist. This book was able to speak her language and give her parents and teachers an amazing amount of credibility. It was almost like her mind clicked and said, "It must be true. It's in the book." Her behavior turned around in a matter of DAYS! It's been 4 weeks since we began reading the book to her. She enjoys reading it and we read it a couple of times a week at bed time. She has consistently continued her improved behavior. The only reason for not giving 5 stars is that we felt a couple of the phrases/wording in the book were overly harsh. However, our easy fix is: my husband and I use our own wording in those areas. I hope it helps you as much as it has us!

Don't Rant and Rave on Wednesday!:
Excellent book for children and families dealing with anger-management and strong emotions. It's a great book children can read on their own, have it read to them as well as an excellent book for families to read together. A must have book and must have series!

Don"t Rant and Rave on Wednesday:
Excellent book for young children on anger management. Great Pictures. Easy Language. To be used with other activities.