SchoolZone

My Big Shouting Day

Rebecca Patterson

Jonathan Cape Ltd

ISBN 9781780080062

WINNER OF THE ROALD DAHL FUNNY PRIZE 2012 "Today I woke up and Bob was crawling around MY ROOM, licking MY JEWELLERY, so I shouted GET OUT OF MY ROOM! and that was the start of MY BIG SHOUTING DAY..." Bella is having one of those days - her biscuit is broken, she has a hurting foot and ballet is TOOOO itchy for words. All she can do is shout! But by the end of the day, when she's all tired out from being shouty, Bella knows there's one magic word and one magic mummy to make things better again...

I am developing into a big fan of this author/illustrator's distinctive style. Her stylised dumpy, round-faced little figures are instantly recognisable, in their expressions and body language, as very real nursery age children.

In this book she captures perfectly the sort of terrible day long-suffering mothers will be all too familiar with, when absolutely nothing suits the demanding toddler. The toothpaste is too minty, the peas are too hot etc etc.

As the day progresses, things go from bad to worse and since the story is told by Bella we experience her bafflement. Why does nobody understand how exhausted she is by all this shouting she has to do? Of course the reader has all the delicious visual clues to understand the subtext of what is going on: which is pure sibling rivalry! Bella does not like her baby brother getting attention or messing with her things.

This book will definitely make children laugh at Bella's outrageous antics and the dirty looks she gets from her otherwise very calm and patient mother and the way bystanders and even toys and pets are looking bemused by her behaviour or defensively covering their ears.

It will no doubt also provoke really useful discussion about what Bella is feeling and how she could help herself avoid these situations All children will appreciate the very reassuring message that despite everything you throw at them, mothers are always there at the end with love and reassurance.