The Grumps. They are absolutely unavoidable in life. Sometimes we know why we have them and other times they seem to come out of nowhere. Either way they aren’t too much fun. For the person with them and those around them. Children are not immune for a good case of the grumps every now and then. I am the momma of a toddler, so trust me, I know. I am a believer that children need to be taught to recognize their feelings, including the grumps, and ways that they can manage them.
These four books that came out recently (with the exception of “Penguin Problems” which comes out later this month) are excellent for discussing the grumps as well as teaching different strategies for dealing with them. Each one is a total gem. A couple use humor to playfully address the grumps in an entertaining way and one addresses them in a more mature, but still beautiful approach. Each one has not only winning illustrations, but fabulous text as well. I love how each one doesn’t state the cause for why the characters are grumpy. I feel this makes the books more easily applicable to young readers. Also, I love how in the penguin books the penguins cheer up a little, but they are still a bit grumpy as well. I feel this teaches kids that it is okay to go through the process of the grumps and just manage them until they pass rather than trying to hide or discredit their emotions.
Below I have included a brief description of each one as well as a companion activity that you can use with any of these books to help your child go “Beyond the Book” and apply a strategy for managing the grumps that can be quite helpful. (It includes a free printable because I love you all!)
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Penguin Problems by Jory John and Lane Smith. This is the most humorous one of the bunch and I love it. It is about a little penguin who has the grumps and spends most of the book explaining all of his problems to you. (You know how everything can seem wrong when you are in a bad mood? That is what this penguin is experiencing.) Then, out of nowhere, a wise walrus shows up and offers his sage advice to the young penguin along with a new perspective. He helps the penguin to realize all the beautiful and positive things around him that make him happy he is a penguin. This helps our little friend cheer up a little.
Grumpy Pants by Clair Messer. This little penguin is super grumpy. He comes in from the rain and tries to shake the grumps off. He goes through a process of getting in the bath, reading some books, and doing things he finds enjoyable to help lift his spirits a bit before he is off to bed to start a new day tomorrow. It has simple text and is incredibly sweet. This one is perfect for the extra young kiddos with grumps out there, such as toddlers. The penguin is lovable and the illustrations are bright and happy.
Virginia Wolf by Kya Maclear and Isabella Arsenault. This one is beautiful, poignant, and has a lot more text and depth than the other three books in this list. It can still be used for younger readers but I feel it fits best for older children. It could even be used as an introduction or an opening for discussion on depression for older children if you wish. Otherwise this book can easily just be used to teach about a case of the grumps. It is loosely based on the life of Virginia Wolf who struggled with depression herself. In the story her sister recognizes that she is in a “wolfish” mood and is upset with absolutely everything around her. She tries everything she can think of to cheer her up, but to no avail. Eventually she paints a beautiful fantasy land of flowers and candy in her sisters room and that does the trick in helping her sister out of her wolfish mood and back to being happy. It ends joyfully and the illustrations in this one are also completely swoon worthy.
Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker and Eda Kaban. What kid doesn’t love a good superhero book, am I right?! This one tops the charts too! I love how it takes people that children idolize for goodness and strength, superheroes, and points out that even they aren’t immune from a good case of the grumps. It helps kids realize that they are allowed to experience the grumps and that it is perfectly normal and okay. This book lists a bunch of things that superheros could do with their super powers when they are upset, but they don’t because it isn’t the right way to solve things. It continues on to mention the activities that they do involve themselves in to manage the grumps such as super-Xtreme outer space mountain biking and even meditation. (Love it!) This book is playful and fun, with illustrations that pop and are full of fantastic detail. It is also one that makes it easy to discuss the grumps with your little.
Grumps Activity/ Management Strategy
My favorite part of these books for discussing the grumps with children is how they list different activities that the characters do to manage their case of the grumps. I wanted something my toddler could have to help him decide on a strategy/activity he can do when he has a case of the grumps. Hence the “My Grump Book” was born and I couldn’t be prouder.
There are a lot of activities that my little guy loves doing that are relaxing and bring him joy. This includes everything from playing with his truck outside to playing with his bean and rice sensory bin inside. All I did to make his grump book was print of a selection of photos of him doing these activities (focusing on ones where he looked particularly happy and ones that are simple to do spur-of-the-moment) and put them in one of those inexpensive plastic photo albums that you can pick up from just about anywhere. Then I created a label, applied it, and the book was complete.
The idea behind this book is that when my toddler has the grumps this book can be used as a reference for him to look through and choose an activity that he wants to do to manage his grumps. Simple. Often when he is grumpy he doesn’t know how to deal with his big emotions and it is harder to communicate with him through his frustration. I also feel that at these times it is harder for him to visualize or come-up with activities that can help him feel better. This book solves that by visually reminding him how much he loves these activities and what toddler doesn’t enjoy seeing pictures of themselves!
Another reason I love this strategy is that it puts the power to choose the activity in his hands which is important for teaching him responsibility for his emotions and fosters independence. It is a book that can be used over and over again. I am even hoping that after introducing it to him and letting him use it a few times I can put it out somewhere where he can access it easily on his own when he needs an idea of something to do when he is grumpy.
I am actually kinda excited to give this a try the next time he has the grumps! If you create a Grump Book of your own and have success, let me know in the comments here or share on Instagram with the hashtag #beyondthebook. I would love to hear! Or to save for later simply pin the image below.
Below is the label I created for the grump book if you want to use it. It should fit any standard inexpensive photo album. Just print and apply!
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