Sometimes I'm Bombaloo FROM OUR EDITORS
Like most little kids, Katie sometimes loses her temper. And when Katie is really mad, she's just not herself. Sometimes, she's Bombaloo. Being Bombaloo is scary. But a little time-out and a lot of love can help calm Bombaloo down and help Katie feel like Katie again. With warmth, humor, and extraordinary insight, this reassuring picture book shows kids that everyone gets angry sometimes...and that having a tantrum isn't the best way to cope.
ANNOTATION
When Katie Honors feels angry and out of control, her mother helps her to be herself again.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Sometimes Katie loses her temper. She uses her feet and her fists instead of words. When Katie is this mad, she's just not herself. Sometimes, she's Bombaloo. Being Bombaloo is scary. But a little time-out and a lot of love can help calm Bombaloo down and help Katie feel like Katie again.
Readers of all ages will appreciate the warmth, humor, and keen insight Rachel Vail and Yumi Heo bring to an issue all families experience. This reassuring picture book is perfect for sharing with all the little (and big) Bombaloos in our lives.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Emotions bubble over in this wise picture book about how a child deals with anger. Katie Honors is a self-described "really good kid," generally obedient, kind and conscientious. But occasionally her baby brother's penchant for wrecking her building-block castles sends Katie over the edge: "Sometimes I'm Bombaloo," she explains about her furious alter ego. "I show my teeth and make fierce noises.... I use my feet and my fists instead of my words.... I want to smash stuff." Obliged to "take some time for myself and think about it," Katie calms down and realizes, "I'm sorry and a little frightened." Vail (Over the Moon; the Friendship Ring series) speaks knowingly to both young children and parents, emphasizing love and patience. Her kid-friendly phrasing and language add immediacy and some humor to the proceedings. Much like Betsy Everitt's Mean Soup, this book's message that it's normal, if scary, to lose control sometimes is clear, and emphasized in a most satisfying way. Heo's (Father's Rubber Shoes) highly patterned mixed-media illustrations, alternately warm and perky, use vibrant backgrounds, blocks of color and carefully chosen images to depict Katie's emotional tornado. Memorable scenes include Katie seated against a stark black background during her time-out, and an up-close view of her in the throes of a Bombaloo moment. Ages 3-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
Katie Honor really is a very good kid. She is usually very happy and proud of all of the things she can do well. Even when her brother knocks over her castle, she can sometimes hold her temper. But there are other times when she is a bombaloo. She shows her teeth and makes terrible monster faces. She even throws her toys around. There is a lot of yelling and she must take some time off to be by herself and think about what she has done. Sure, she can come out when she is under control and wants to apologize. But when she's a bombaloo, she doesn't care about anything and she's not sorry. She eventually calms down and she can laugh and be herself again. Katie does realize that being a bombaloo is a little bit scary. A reassuring story made even more kid friendly with wonderfully colorful, stylized illustrations. 2002, Scholastic Press, $15.95. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Kristin Harris AGES: 3 4 5 6
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1-Anger is the subject of this wonderfully illustrated and beautifully designed picture book. Katie Honors is a good kid, who gives excellent hugs and remembers to use her napkin. But sometimes she's Bombaloo, and uses her feet and fists instead of words. "It's scary, being Bombaloo," she says, "My mother knows that. She hugs me and helps me clean up the mess Bombaloo made, and then after some sorries and kisses for my brother, we build a new castle together." Heo's bright paintings are quirky and immediate, and show a Bombaloo world that's slightly askew. Constantly changing perspective, color, and typeface project Katie's roller coaster of emotions. The subject and age of the character in this title bear a very close resemblance to those in Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry- (Scholastic, 1999), yet they are different enough in voice and mode of resolution that most collections will want both.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A keen-eyed view on the evolution and eruption of a child's tantrum and its aftermath. Perky Katie Honors proudly catalogues her accomplishments: brushing her teeth, employing pristine table manners, putting her toys away, and so forth. Often, she reports, Katie handles her younger brother's destruction of her carefully erected castles with grace and dignity. However, there are days when she loses her aplomb, and that's when Bombaloo emerges. In her Bombaloo mode, Katie bursts forth like an avenging Fury. It takes a comic moment to restore her poise and oust the Bombaloo. Sympathetically acknowledging how a loss of control can be scary for a child, Vail (Not That I Care, 1999, etc.) does a superb job of portraying a tantrum in full force even while tempering the angst with strategic guidelines for quelling the Bombaloo that lurks within. In the midst of her wrath, Katie amusingly parrots an adult voice with the inclusion of such p.c. phrases as "I can come out when I'm ready to control myself and say I'm sorry." A bit problematic are some of the descriptions of Katie's outburst, which can be fairly edgy for a younger audience. "I use my feet and my fists instead of my words. My toys end up all over the floor and so does my brother." Heo's (Henry's First-Moon Birthday, 2001, etc.) intensely colorful, gloriously outlandish illustrations are a perfect match for Vail's text. Changes in perspective, spot images strewn over the pages, and slashes of energy emanating from fists and face mirror Katie's turbulent emotions while their over-the-top quality diffuses some of the tension aroused by the tale. An honest and understanding appraisal of tantrums from the child's perspective. (Picture book.4-7)
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