*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: I am a Thundercloud
Author: Leah Moser
Illustrator: Marie Hermansson
Publisher: Running Press Kids (shared by Hachette Books Canada)
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780762482184
Synopsis:
Having emotions, even angry ones, is a part of being human. In Leah Moser’s I Am a Thundercloud a young child is having a bad day—they BOOM, ROAR, CRASH, and CRACKLE like an angry thundercloud. Tense body language, an inability to say the “right” words, the instinct to hide are like a brewing storm within the child. But like the sun breaking through, our protagonist processes big emotions by relaxing, asking for help, opening up, and pausing to permit themselves to breathe. This powerful picture book reminds us that having the ability to recognize how we are feeling not only increases our emotional intelligence and helps us process our own emotions, but it also allows us to recognize and empathize with others who are struggling with their emotions.
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I am a Thundercloud is an exploration of managing emotions meant for little readers who may be struggling to handle or express big feelings that build up inside. Like a thundercloud, emotions like anger and frustration explode and crash around, struggling to be contained and full of wild reactions. It’s hard for little ones to know what to do with all of these emotions, but with a book like Moser’s, children can start to envision their feelings like the storms that rumble outside their windows in summer time. It’s easier to understand those hot and loud feeling when littles can see it as a storm that rises and peaks, seemingly without control. After a storm, the sun breaks out, creating a pause and a minute to breathe.
This book is an excellent introduction to helping children recognize the many different and often wild feelings that exist in their hearts. Moser helps to make emotions more relatable by contextualizing them through the weather in a way that’s understandable and easy for children to digest. She brings is loud sounds like BOOM and ROAR, to help bring awareness and engagement to how children can react in moments of frustration or anger, and then walks them through calming techniques like breathing, talking to a friend, or feeling the world around them.
The beautiful images help to add a visual to the story for children to see the differences between the dark, swirling, and cracking pictures in times of chaos and heightened emotion. Brighter calmer colours and images of peaceful moments in nature accompany the pages discussing ways to find calm. These images add an extra layer to the story to help make it more relatable and to provide additional context to young readers to help walk them through the basics of tuning into their emotions.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 