Need ways to calm your angry child down? This collection of children’s books about anger helps kids manage and understand these big feelings.
It’s that moment when you realize this is far more than just temper tantrums or mere stubbornness. And after three kids, I’ve seen the face of true anger, especially when it comes out of nowhere.
It might’ve been when I said it was time to leave the school garden, only for them to kick and scream in the van the entire ride home. Or when one of my kids yelled at the top of his lungs, his face in anguish because I told him it was time to take a bath.
And sometimes it’s when they overreact about what another brother had said (“I wasn’t being mean!” they’ll scream).
For some kids, this anger goes beyond that moment, as they make their way to their room, knocking down the hamper or flinging blankets to the floor. They’re so angry they feel compelled to hit or scream endlessly when things don’t go their way.
And for us parents? We get angry right back, then feel guilty and exhausted afterward. Or we feel like we have to tiptoe around our kids, afraid of yet another angry outburst.
But as frustrating and overwhelming as this can be, anger itself isn’t inherently bad. I certainly don’t want my kids to suppress anger or feel like they can never get upset. They shouldn’t think that anger is something to be ashamed of, or that they’re a worse person because of it.
After all, everyone feels anger and frustration—these are necessary emotions to process.
Children’s books about anger
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Still, being that it’s an emotion we all feel, we need to teach kids anger management and ways of calming down.
Rather than brush it under the rug, show your child how to identify his own anger and anxieties and better manage them. Give him examples of how to communicate so he doesn’t always stomp and throw a fit, and provide coping ways to get through it.
One of the best ways to discuss anger is through children’s books.
Kids don’t come equipped knowing what emotions are. So, when these overwhelming feelings rush through them, they don’t always know what’s going on, whether it’s a normal emotion, or what to do about it.
But by reading children’s books about anger, your child can then see that everyone experiences anger in one way or another. He reads about other characters going through the same thoughts and feelings he does, picking up tips on how to manage them.
And more importantly, he knows that he’s still a good person, no matter what.
As my kids grow and I get better at responding to their anger, I’ve seen vast changes in how they handle it. And I can say that reading children’s books about anger has helped us talk about this important but often challenging emotion.
Take a look at my favorite children’s books about anger:
Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker
Crankenstein by Samantha Berger
How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad by Jane Yolen
Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul
Angry Cookie by Laura Dockrill
Roaring Mad Riley by Allison Szczecinski
When I’m Feeling Angry by Trace Moroney
The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket
Sometimes I’m Bombaloo by Rachel Vail
When Sophie Gets Angry by Molly Bang
When I Feel Angry by Cornelia Maude Spelman
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
No Fits, Nilson! by Zachariah OHora
Today I’m a Monster by Agnes Green
How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger by Elizabeth Verdick
Free resource: Want more tips about handling your child’s anger? Join my newsletter and get your copy of 5 Tips to Raising a Strong-Willed Child. Discover 5 ways to nurture and work with—not against—their inner spirit and strong personality:
Get more tips:
- How to Help Your Angry Child
- How to Discipline a Toddler Who Hits
- 5 Ways to Stop Toddler Power Struggles Many Parents Don’t Think to Do
- 7 Game-Changing Ways to Respond to Your Argumentative Child
- Unique Ways to Meet the Emotional Needs of Your Child
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