By Louise Greig, illustrated by Julia Sardà
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018
Picture book, 32 pages, ages 4-8
Ed in a bad mood is NOT a very nice Ed. And this bad mood swept over Ed like a storm.
What begins as a tiny thing (a leaf smacking Ed in the face) grows all out of proportion as Ed sweeps leaves and doesn’t stop, even when the swept up pile of leaves and people and animals and cars and buses is HUGE! Until it’s just Ed and his bad mood … and he knows something has to change.
A tall fall tale with a valuable lesson at its heart.
Sweep is simple and straightforward yet detailed and nuanced. It makes bad moods understandable and provides mindset tools to avoid being swept away. But more than that … it’s just a good story.
Leaves are used as a metaphor for getting swept away by anger and stubbornly clinging to it even when you know you’ve gone far enough. We’ve all been there, even little kids will be able to relate. The extremes Ed goes to when he’s swept up in his bad mood are funny – and impactful.
The illustrations are gorgeously detailed and add so much to the story. Ed’s scowl, his oversized yellow coat, and his flappy black scarf bring the character to life. However, I do wish that there was more diversity in the illustrations; all the characters are white except one small tertiary character who isn’t easily seen. This is the reason for the half star deduction.
Will kids like this book? Yes, I think so. As a kid, I would have loved the story and detailed illustrations, but it probably wouldn’t have made it into my regular rotation of favorites. Still, it’s a great book that subtly teaches anger management.
This book gets 41/2 stars from this reviewer.