Mad at Mommy

by Komako Sakai

The creator of last year's sleeper success THE SNOW DAY returns with another pitch-perfect story of real childhood experience -- what happens when you get MAD AT MOMMY.

Little Bunny is VERY MAD at his mommy.
She sleeps too late.
She talks too much.
She watches her silly shows instead of cartoons.
And she gets mad for no reason -- just a few little bubbles on the floor.

The only thing left to do is run away. But does he really want to leave Mommy behind forever?

With the charming illustrations and spot-on understanding of young children's thinking that distinguished THE SNOW DAY and EMILY'S BALLOON, Komako Sakai brings us a REALLY ANGRY -- and ultimately sweet -- new story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Emotion, Animals, Storytime, Japan

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Komako Sakai was born in Hyogo, Japan, in 1966. After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Sakai worked at a kimono textile design company.

Komako Sakai is one of the most popular children’s author/illustrators in Japan. She has won awards around the world, including Japan Picture Book Prize, a Golden Plaque at the Biennial of Illustration in Slovakia, and a Silver Griffin in the Netherlands.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a strange book. The pictures are gorgeous and the bunny is so cute, I wanted to love it. But the message is a little weird, cause I'm pretty sure Mommy is clinically depressed or bipolar and kind of neglectful. The entire time he's yelling at her, she's in bed with the covers over her head. Really not sure what we're trying to say here.

In fact, as time has gone on and I've reread it, I only find it more disturbing than anything else. If you want a good picture book about anger, go read Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama Mad at Mama or Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new book from the creator of The Snow Day, this book offers an accurate portrayal of child anger.

Little Bunny is very angry at his mommy. And he is more than willing to tell her exactly why. She sleeps late on Saturdays. She never lets him watch cartoons. She always yells for no reason. She is always telling him to hurry up and then not hurrying herself. She always forgets to do the laundry. She told him he can’t marry her when he is older. So he’s decided to run away. For a moment or two.

Sakai has created a very spare and minimal picture book. The use of texture and roughness in the illustrations complements the frustration of Little Bunny. Originally published in Japan, the book does feel different than American picture books, especially in its illustrations. The subject matter is universal. The book is told in the child’s voice, which Sakai captures winningly. The complaints are offered as a list, one to the next, as if they are occurring to him as he speaks. The effect is a rather dynamic feel to the book, leaping from one idea to the next.

A beauty of a book that will make a great contrast to other anger books like When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry by Mollly Bang and Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will never happen to me, right?

[Marike]

Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai

A book that expresses the andgry sulking child’s emotion wonderfully. Mad at Mommy says it all. The child character is represented by a little rabit. The colours are toned down, pastels. Surely something every child and parent can recognise somewhere in the story, I AM SO MAD AT YOU! You always sleep late, especially on Saturdays. Always and always. [Yes it has a loving mother end]

[Julia March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember that time when you were little and you got so mad at mom that you finally told mom you were leaving then 2 minutes later you came back? Meet a little rabbit who plans to do just that after telling mom why he's so mad at her. Adorable illustrations with a heart warming story that most of us can relate to.

[Everett Earles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mommy said this book made her feel a little guilty. I told her, you’re a much better mommy than this bunny’s mommy. I could never get mad-oh wait. She just put me down. Now I’M mad at MOMMY, TOO!!

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, I want to give the super cute illustrations more stars than I can give the plot of the story. I grabbed this thinking that it was going to be a great book talking about feelings for young children. The illustrations are wonderful, and it starts off great. I was thinking it was a nice way to show children dealing with anger when things don't always go their way. However, a few pages in, we see that maybe little bunny's horrible feelings really are justified. Mommy is still in bed, doesn't wash his clothes - so much that little bunny has to wear yesterdays socks to school (and we all know how dirty and smelly little boy's socks get on the playground), and then Mommy is still late to pick him up from school. At the end, it's almost as if little bunny has to apologize to mommy for his feelings as the big resolution is that Mommy still loves him even if he is mad at mommy. I think Mommy might have some clinical depression, which can be a good topic for a children's book - but to make a children's book where the child has to apologize for feeling upset after being neglected is just horrible. Let me add that I love fake children's books - ones written for adults that are the anti-children's books - Creepy Susie gets 5 Stars from me - but this is an actual children's picture book, and just made me really sad to read.

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

This bunny needs to call the 1-800 number for support when living with depressed loved ones.

I appreciate the beauty and emotional quality of Sakai's work. Emily's Balloon is in my top 20 favorite picture books, but I won't be quick to offer this one to a child because of it's complexity.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are cute but the story is so bizarre! The mom is laying in bed with the covers over her head while her baby bunny yells at her about all the things she does that he hates. Then he runs away. And comes back. What is the point????

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful picture book perfect for reading with your own ornery little bunny after a frustrating day. The simple but expressive artwork conveys a youngsters frustrations.

[Lucy Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book for young children. It has beautiful illustrations. The pictures look quite similar, using the same coloured blue background - so you can really focus on the rabbit's facial expressions and imagine how he might be feeling. It makes you feel quite emotional as a mother as I am sure there are many times that I have told my own children to hurry up! To the small rabbit these are huge things and you can tell just how mad and upset he is from the bold words and his decision to run away! It would be a nice book to explore with young children to see if they have ever felt mad at their parents and perhaps to use it as a PHSE session - realising that everyone has moments of feeling mad or angry and that's okay. Also, you could help to look at things from a different perspective to build empathy. Re-writing some of the story from the mommy rabbit's point of view.

[sweet orange books · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult book. A small rabbit feels that his mom is unfair and doesn't let him do what he wants, especially letting him marry her. As we read the book, we discover that the mom stays in bed all day, forgets to do laundry, spends hours watching tv, and stays lethargic even when her kid goes away. She might suffer from clinical depression. The book revolves around the anger and frustration of the baby bunny, and it's hard to know what to make of this book. Those topics deserve to be talked about, but I don't feel like this book did it well. I would not recommend it.

Read and reviewed: 2018-10-25

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof, I have heard these conversations! I thought this was a pretty good book for giving kids a voice. It's okay to be mad at their parents and to express it verbally- in fact, how healthy to teach them to pinpoint their feelings. It's also okay for parents to be people- they can sleep in sometimes; they can get mad at misbehavior. I think it's great for helping kids name their feelings and for parents to help start those conversations. The one weird part (but is realistic for many) is where he says it's not fair that he can't marry his mom one day. I get it, but... might not be for every kid.

[Sophie Snowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lovely picture book which could be used to explore the different emotions on the rabbit. With the same background colour for almost every illustration this allows great potential to really explore the rabbit. However, it also tells the story of an unkind mother who doesn't really appreciate what she has until it's gone. I therefore think you'd need to be careful when using this with children making sure you understand and really know the children well.

[Phobean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, these bunnies are cute. The baby rabbit protagonist has some strong things to say about what Mom's doing wrong --while Mom appears to be asleep in bed in the same room. Resolution arrives in short, mostly wordless 4 pages. Child-readers/listeners will have to decide for themselves how the nameless baby rabbit recovers from 20 pages of grievances, because it's definitely not spelled out.

[Federica Miross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoro este libro. De los libros que le leí a mis hijos, este es uno de mis favoritos.

¿Por qué me gusta? Porque te muestra la foto que tus hijos tienen de tí como madre en algunas situaciones.

Yo soy madre de dos, y este libro me enseñó a ponerles más atención a mis hijos y al mismo tiempo permitirme balancearlo con mis necesidades.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The art was amazing. It seemed like they were colored linoleum prints or some sort of printmaking and I loved that. The story is sweet and heartwarming. The illustrations add to the story and I want to read more books by this author. The bunny is just so darn cute!

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story that most parents will recognize. Brings back many fond memories of small children when my wife and I would say "Someday we will look back on this and laugh". Well those days are here, and sometimes we even miss the bad times.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most endearing picture book I read this year. I don't know how the author gets the mannerisms and the dialogue of a very young child exactly right, but there it is! It portrays the frustration and fierce love, the very interdependence that a child has with a a parent.

[Courtney Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that students and teachers wil be able to relate to. I think it would be a book all students would be able to relate to because all children get mad at their parents but they will always realize they can't live without them.

[Amanda Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read to read to your children. Shows the feelings children have sometimes, but how a mother can be loving even after their child decides to leave and come back. Illustrations have pretty pastel colors that really help depict the story's tone.

[Ham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful portrayal of child anger, and is on the kid’s side.

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely relate to this little bunny. I wish the narrative had actually had the mother explain things or apologize or something? The story feels unresolved.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preschool rabbit throws a tantrum.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

More gorgeous artwork from this author.

And a wonderful story about how it's ok to be mad at mommy.

[skcocnaH · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems like this little bunny needs some therapy. Just sayin’.

[Marcia Van Camp · Rating 1 out of 5]

My daughter found this on a day she was mad at me, it didn’t help

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great illustrations, not a great story.

[Dee]

Lost in translation