Diane Alber's A Little SPOT of Anger: A Story About Learning to Manage Big Emotions

Curtis: Great book for littles who sometimes struggle with anger

United States on Sep 17, 2023

Michelle: I first saw this book being read on youtube. My son enjoyed it and its a great way to explain or introduce emotions

Canada on Jul 24, 2023

Lyda Major-Sweet: This was useful for a grandchild. It was easy to understand and we'll keep reading and reinforcing what was learned. (It's also a useful reminder to cranky grandparents.}

United States on Jul 14, 2023

Miklann: My 20 month old grandson was so angry all the time after his sister was born. He loved her and was not a danger to her, but his emotions were very volatile. We read this book to him several times when he was calm. He liked it. We practiced the strategies like a game. Then when we tried them during an outburst, he fought against them - hard. Once the adults learned the best timing for intervention, it helped him calm down faster and opened a dialog about feeling sad or angry when things don't go the way we want them to. I recommend this book!

United States on Jul 04, 2023

Amazon Customer: My daughter loves these books. They explain emotions in an easy way. They encourage dealing with your anger rather than avoiding it or labelling it as a bad emotion. As a therapist myself, I love its given me the simple language and cooing tool to explain to my 5 yr old.

Canada on May 28, 2023

M. Spenner: Great visual aid to use with kids and the beauty of the little poem, hand movement and big breath- it is always with them. Cute story, good examples- and leads the way to conversation about, when was a time you were angry, what happened? What if you had done this, how might it have gone differently? Practice, create- talk about it. Good conversation starter about a very real feeling.

United States on Apr 26, 2023

DL Tru22: Excellent book to help children understand anger and how to deal with it easily. My grandchildren love the Spot books.

Canada on Aug 16, 2022

Carmen: I think this book has a great way of trying to explain where and why anger appears. It allows the child to understand what could make them upset and most of all, how to calm down with counting their fingers from 1 to 4. This book shows a few examples of a little one getting upset. Then as you read on you practice the counting and breathing skills that you were taught. I feel this book has a positive approach on dealing with feelings. I only wish the print was a bit larger.

Canada on Nov 06, 2021

Nathalie: My daughter's 2 and was having tantrums (imagine that). We bought a bunch of books to help her manage her anger and self-soothe. This one and Daniel Tiger's I Am Mad are my favorites. This one is a bit lengthier, and it took us a few tries before we ever made it to the end of the book, so I might recommend this for kids who are already patient with books, or are a bit older and can handle a good amount of text per picture.
I think this offers a great tool with a rhyming/sing-songy mantra. I imagine the finger-tapping technique would work particularly well for kids (and - let's be real - parents) who are particularly tactile and need to keep their hands busy. In our house the Daniel Tiger song seems to have stuck better (it's shorter and simpler) but for slightly older kids, I imagine the Spot of Anger mantra would really be perfect.
Nevertheless, the "red book" became one of her favorites. I also love the structure of this book. First we learn about emotions and anger. Then we learn the technique and mantra. Finally, we apply the technique to several scenarios.

United States on Apr 27, 2020

Rebecca Hamer: As a teacher I had read the story "A Little Spot Of Kindness" and my students loved it and were using their spots in the playground and even at home. So when I saw this book released I was excited to read it to the class, as negative emotions are a tricky one to teach to young children. I loved how the author gave examples of situations that the students can relate to and then the best part was the little rhyme they can say to help them calm down. It was a lovely little moment when I saw in the playground straight after reading the book to the class - one of my students was telling another friend that they need to calm their angry spot down and they were both sitting there tapping their fingers and saying the rhyme. So this is awesome to use in the classroom but also at home. I will be telling my parents about the book and the strategies used in it. I hope this author decided to create a series and publish a few more books that cover a whole spectrum of both positive and negative emotions - as this is so needed for young children these days.

Australia on Sep 09, 2019