What are YOU so grumpy about?

I am quite intrigued by children’s books, no, actually love children's books. They are simple, fun, and normally include an underlying theme, which is often subtle, but sometimes right in your face. A book can become your companion and help you be in a particular mood when you choose to. There were so many that adorned our little bookshelf. I’ll never forget ‘The Monster at the end of this book!’ which was an all time favorite. Over the years of course, you progress to older genres of books. Starting with the still basic ones, for me, I loved The Faraway Tree. This fantasy tree/land and its inhabitants were my favorite people for many years - The Saucepan Man, Dame Washalot, Mr. Whatsisname and the Angry Pixie among others. This book made fantasy a reality and made me want to skip school, my home and everything around me and head to the Faraway Tree.

One of the books that I happened to come across online today, is a book by Tom Lichenheld, the author of ‘What are YOU so grumpy about?’ The title caught my eye, and the illustration peeked my interest even further - so cute!

This book is meant to cover the many possible causes of grumpiness in a child’s world. For e.g. stubbing a toe, being touched by a sibling (me me me, I experienced this all the time!), or having to cope with gravy that touched the peas on the dinner plate (this I know!). This book is designed to get your child out of his or her grumpy mood by redirecting his or her attention to something humorous and forgetting about the grumpiness altogether. Think about it, how often have you listened to stand–up comedy and really felt better when the comedian describes a situation that you can relate to, or better still, think they HAVE to be talking about you coz noone else does a jig while waiting for the water in the shower to reach the ideal temperature, or counts the steps to your home on the way back from work for no apparent reason.

Read more of reviews. I don’t own the book, but would welcome it for my child…in about 12 and a half years. Yes, please put it on ur gift list. Ill expect to have it when I am facing my grumbling toddler.

Review excerpt: Side comments add to the fun ("Oh Poop," says one child when he gets underwear in a birthday package). Another page talks about the "dangers" of a big hug from Grandma and shows a newspaper story with a big-bosomed blonde granny and an arrow pointing to her rather-endowed chest, claiming that her grandson was "last seen here." Kids are sure to snicker with glee, feeling that they are getting away with seeing/hearing something a bit risqué.