Sometimes I Am Furious by Timothy Knapman

Abstract

Reviewed by: Sometimes I Am Furious by Timothy Knapman Natalie Berglind Knapman, Timothy Sometimes I Am Furious; illus. by Joe Berger. Penguin Workshop, 2023 [32p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780593521052 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-7 yrs A little girl readily admits she can be a pleasant person . . . until something ruins her mood. “Sometimes I don’t mind it/ when the grown-ups make mistakes./ But SOMETIMES I am furious.” Various incidents trigger the little girl’s fury, [End Page 329] from someone else having more ice cream, her parents telling her what to do, and “naughty, GREEDY little boys,/ who want to play with/ all my toys!” The aftermath of her anger-fueled moments never feels good, but luckily Grandma is here to save the day by teaching the little girl a coping technique, breathing steadily and counting to ten, and the strategy works to calm the girl down and avoid tantrums and tears. In this charming UK picture book import, our narrator’s cute, unassuming attire—a white skirt, a shirt with a Peter Pan collar, and an adorable bow—comically mismatches the pure childhood-tantrum wrath of exaggerated downturned eyebrows and a glare so intense it practically burns through the page. Much of the negative space is yellow with shades of orange and red, ensuring viewers understand how deep the girl’s rage runs. Knapman is empathetic to the way children think about and process their natural emotions—it’s not feeling furious that’s an issue for the girl, but how she chooses to deal with it, a lesson that kids must eventually learn. The text’s rhyming couplets are smoothly read aloud and make this an ideal choice for a storytime that will have its audience in giggles and maybe inspire some introspection about how to deal with big emotions. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois