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Summary
Summary
Who among us hasn't encountered that force of nature called "a fit"? A best-selling author and illustrator depict a toddler's tantrum in all its horror and hilarity.
Finn likes peaches. Usually. But not today. Today Finn doesn't like anything. Uh-oh. Is Finn going to throw a fit? Author David Elliott directs the event with wit, warmth, and appropriate wariness, while illustrator Timothy Basil Ering's energy and whimsy match this tantrum turn for turn. At once empathetic and uproariously funny, this picture book speaks directly to anyone (young or old) who has ever had -- or tried to contain -- a real earth-quaking, ground-shaking, full-on fit.
Author Notes
David Elliott is the author of the New York Times best-selling picture book And Here's to You!, illustrated by Randy Cecil, and On the Farm, illustrated by Holly Meade. He lives in Warner, New Hampshire.
Timothy Basil Ering is the illustrator of the Newbery Medal-winning The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo and the author-illustrator of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone and Necks Out for Adventure. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Anyone who has ever had a bad day will recognize this scenario. After his mother makes the innocent mistake of asking her son if he would like some peaches, she watches as his mood goes from cranky to downright earthshaking. The illustrations, done in a messy mix of charcoal, oil paint, and grease pencil, capture the angry energy of the tantrum. Similar to David Shannon's "David" books (Scholastic), Finn is less mischievous and more prone to meltdowns. Overall, the book is fun and captures the essence of a cranky toddler whose moods can change as fast as the weather.-Kate Neff, Alachua County Library, Gainesville, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Droll text and exuberant illustrations render a toddler's tantrum in all its magnificence. "Finn likes peaches. Usually," the book opens, as tiny egg-shaped Finn sits on a chair, dangling his yellow boots and holding his peach. "But today, Finn doesn't like peaches. Today, Finn doesn't like anything." Finn's parents attempt to placate him as he glowers; his mother, kneeling, proffers peaches, his father holds out toys-even the dog grins. No dice. Finn's tantrum roils the house ("Tidal waves sweep through the living room. Hurricanes rage in the dining room") until, suddenly, it's over ("It lasts until it doesn't"). Elliott (On the Farm) and Ering (The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone) operate like the left and right hands of a single comic mind; each tongue-in-cheek line of text is deftly countered with raw charcoal scrawls, wild strokes of paint and crazed scribbles. Small readers will giggle at the realization of their angry feelings-complete with rippling lengths of toilet paper, floods of tears and flying crockery-while parents will blanch at the brilliant exposition of the power their children hold over them. Ages 2-4. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
To say that Finn, a blue-shirted, yellow-booted tot with more than a passing resemblance to Humpty-Dumpty, is out of sorts is to severely understate the case. When his mother offers him his usual plate of peach slicesthe very idea!he throws the mother of all fits: There's "Thunder in the nursery! / Lightning in the kitchen!" and so on. Elliott spins out the climatic metaphors for Finn's tantrum up to and including a blizzard, the emotional weather so severe that the family's little white dog flees the house entirely. Ering, always atmospheric, goes happily nuts with the premise, his mixed-mediacharcoal, oils and grease pencilillustrations almost palpably three-dimensional in their wind-blown vigor. If Finn's fit is impressive, its aftermath is equally effective: The little boy sits, collapsed, on the floor, exhaling his last puff of anger before he decides that he'd "like those peaches now. / Please." While likening a child's tantrums to a severe storm is apt enough from an adult perspective, it may be too conceptually remote for little ones, for whom When Sophie Gets AngryReally, Really Angry may still ring the most emotionally true. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Finn, a cantankerous toddler, does not want to eat his peaches. Big deal, right? In fact, it's a huge deal, as Finn storms off and initiates a fit so monumental that thunder crashes in the nursery, hurricanes churn the dining room, and blizzards bury the bathroom. Ering, the illustrator of The Tale of Despereaux (2003), mixes charcoal, oils, and grease pencil to create a scribbly and smeary universe where the physical world flinches and shakes along with Finn's temper. The highly emotive artwork succeeds best in two-page spreads, though there is a smattering of finer details, like the family dog, who happily paddles through the flood of Finn's tears. Ering surrounds Finn in pink flowers when he abruptly snaps out of his rage Ahhhhhhh! and Elliott's dry finish makes it clear he has witnessed the inexplicable mood swings of kids: He'd like those peaches now. Please. --Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2009 Booklist
