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goodem9199's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this and wanted to 5-star it. However, the whole scene with the man taking being a jerk about the pants and then the woman falling in love with him kind of pissed me off....
snorkgurl's review against another edition
3.25
An “eh” story carried by Forsythe’s beautiful illustration. I didn’t find it offensive, I just think a lot of the silliness didn’t quite land.
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
So, apparently this book has a lot of controversy around it, which makes me a little apprehensive to review it since I initially enjoyed my read through this book? So I guess I'll start with that. There's that illustration, featuring a white man in a bad mood who disrobes in front of a dry cleaning lady, who is a woman of color. Wow, talk about problematic. However, I just want to raise a quick word about how this image made it all the way through to publication. Let's be clear: Lemony Snicket did not illustrate this. Matthew Forsythe did. And likely, he was the one who made the decision--intentional or not--to make the dry cleaning lady a woman of color. Illustrators and authors rarely meet, only communicating through the editor or designer of the picturebook. And, it's that designer or editor who typically chooses the illustrator. Of course, given that it's Lemony Snicket who authored this book, he's gonna have the final say. Which, maybe the implications of that illustration just went under his radar because as a white man, he's not "trained" to see those things. I'd like to think that. Of course, he should be trying to look for this stuff in his picturebooks anyways, but...okay. This is a review on the book, not him.
Also, the other critique I've been seeing is that this book teaches children that bad moods can go away if you're mean to someone. Which...I didn't get that from this book, but hey, we all read things differently.
Mostly, I just found this book as a silly way to show that bad moods happen to everyone, and that there can be a multitude of ways to get rid of it. And by showing that a variety of bad moods and things that change it helps children empathize and learn why others may be acting a certain way.
However, taking into account many other critiques and review of this book, I do have to say that I think this book tried to teach children how bad moods operate in a fun and silly way, but ultimately failed to do so. Which is a bummer.
Review cross-listed here!
Also, the other critique I've been seeing is that this book teaches children that bad moods can go away if you're mean to someone. Which...I didn't get that from this book, but hey, we all read things differently.
Mostly, I just found this book as a silly way to show that bad moods happen to everyone, and that there can be a multitude of ways to get rid of it. And by showing that a variety of bad moods and things that change it helps children empathize and learn why others may be acting a certain way.
However, taking into account many other critiques and review of this book, I do have to say that I think this book tried to teach children how bad moods operate in a fun and silly way, but ultimately failed to do so. Which is a bummer.
Review cross-listed here!
rutt's review against another edition
2.0
i liked the first half of this one so much, then it kinda lost me and went off the rails. not sure kids need more examples of people lashing out at each other bc of their bad moods. no thank you.
pacifickle's review against another edition
2.0
The mixed up rainbow colored cloud is so beautiful in this book. I love the colors and the weirdness of a beautiful bad mood cloud.
This tried to hit the quirky funny mark, but I kind of didn’t get it. There is a bad mood who follows people around, and also a stick is involved, but I don’t get the purpose of the stick.
Also a man walks into a dry cleaner with muddy pants and gets the store all dirty & takes his pants off, demanding immediate service. To our surprise, the female dry cleaner actually falls in love with this muddy man. It was indeed pretty surprising.
This tried to hit the quirky funny mark, but I kind of didn’t get it. There is a bad mood who follows people around, and also a stick is involved, but I don’t get the purpose of the stick.
Also a man walks into a dry cleaner with muddy pants and gets the store all dirty & takes his pants off, demanding immediate service. To our surprise, the female dry cleaner actually falls in love with this muddy man. It was indeed pretty surprising.
allmadhere106's review against another edition
2.0
This is a really odd book. I like the premise of the bad mood being passed from person to person, but it tends to leave someone when something bad happens to someone else that they then laugh at. Also there's the whole strange relationship between the man and the woman at the dry cleaners. I think it has some interesting points, but it's definitely not my favorite and I'm not sure what the overall message was.
For: readers looking for a book about bad moods; Snicket fans.
Possible red flags: bullying; pouting/tantrums; references to adult situations.
For: readers looking for a book about bad moods; Snicket fans.
Possible red flags: bullying; pouting/tantrums; references to adult situations.
litlover13's review against another edition
4.0
I love this book! Perfect for explaining what a bad mood is and how your actions can affect others in a positive way.