Mad at Dad by Janie Hao is a story about explosive feelings.

The child in the story is MAD. They are so mad at their dad. They try everything they can think of but they stay mad all day which makes them sad. When dad comes to comfort them, they begin to feel not so mad anymore.

Janie Hao gifts readers with permission to have a big huge tantrum! In this story, even though the main character is doing all the right things, they are still having trouble not being mad which is so common for young readers. I have met many young readers who have explosive feelings and no matter what you do, they just need the safety and security of a parents arms to help them calm their bodies. I love that there are strategies throughout the book that the child tries. Readers will be encouraged to try too. I also love how many of the strategies don’t work to calm them down. It’s so true to life for many young readers and many will feel seen and understood through this book.

I will say however, that the pages of this book may make it hard for it to be a calm down read. I’m not a huge fan of fold out pages. I dislike how they get scrunched and bunched and make the book hard to close. I guess in a story about being mad its an interesting choice for sure but not one that I’m particularly fond of however that is personal preference and does not take away from the wonderful message in the story.

The illustrations are big and chaotic, just like those big, mad feeling experienced by the child in the story. Simple illustrations in bright colours make the story come alive and really drive home the size and scope of the mad feelings in the story.