When Sophie's Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt

Starred review from September 21, 2015
The heroine of Bang’s When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry returns more than 15 years after that Caldecott Honor–winning picture book. At school, Sophie’s class is asked to create pictures of their favorite trees from memory. When Sophie paints her favorite beech tree—the very one she took refuge in during the previous book—she colors it bright blue to show how happy it makes her feel. “You did it wrong,” accuses another student, bringing Sophie to tears, but Sophie’s empathic teacher intervenes: “Both artists looked carefully at their trees and made very different—and very special—paintings,” she says, showing Sophie’s painting beside the boy’s realistically colored tree. Bang’s thickly painted images exude energy and feeling, both in the children’s expressions and through the exaggerated dimensions, angles, and colors. It’s another lovely study in emotion from Bang and a thoughtful exploration of art-making. Ages 4–8.

June 1, 2015
From the author/illustrator of Caldecott Honor book When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry (1999) comes another book about coping with emotional upheaval. Sophie's a little older and her emotions, a bit more complex in this second, longer story. Her teacher gives the class an assignment to choose a tree to paint the next day. Sophie chooses her favorite beech tree, where she still finds comfort when she's angry or sad. Her tree's bark is gray, but using gray paint to represent it feels wrong somehow. Grappling with the challenge of conveying the happiness the tree gives her, she boldly paints it turquoise and makes the sky orange for contrast. She loves the way it looks, but her classmates laugh at her efforts, telling her that her painting is all wrong. Sophie is crushed and mortified. Bang uses perspective to great effect in a double-page spread showing Sophie from above, hands inert by her sides, shrinking away from both readers and her painting as the tears flow. Happily, the teacher steps in with a warm embrace and calmly talks the class through the different ways that their paintings all express their individual feelings about their trees. Bang's trademark striking colors and bold outlines enhance this welcome new book that's as much about the creative process as it is about emotion. (Picture book. 5-7)

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August 1, 2015

K-Gr 3-Sophie is back, and so is the beech tree to which she retreats in the Caldecott Honor book When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry (Scholastic, 1999). This time her teacher asks the class to "find a tree you like a LOT. Look at it carefully.... Tomorrow you're going to paint that tree from memory." As she studies her tree, Sophie notes its thick base, how it thins as it reaches skyward and how the branches curve. She even notices how the sun makes the leaves glow. At school, the young artist wants to convey how happy and alive the tree makes her feel, so she paints it a vibrant turquoise with chartreuse leaves against an orange sky. "She paints yellow all around it, as if it's shining. She fills her shining tree with animals she has seen in the woods." Sadly, her pride and satisfaction are short-lived; "We're supposed to paint a REAL tree, Sophie. You did it WRONG!" Her classmates' whispers and laughter bring tears of hurt and embarrassment. "She wants to JUST NOT BE THERE.... She hates her picture." With gentle questions her wise teacher helps the children understand that "Sophie looked very carefully and painted what she saw...and she used color to show her feelings." Ms. Mulry is able to diffuse the situation without making accusations or taking sides, so that the children appreciate and respect one another's work. Bang has chosen a common school scenario and sees it through to a satisfying resolution. Her signature chunky, full-spread paintings celebrate color, creativity, and diversity. The hand-printed text complements the childlike art. VERDICT All libraries will want this bold offering for lessons on classroom manners, art, and individuality.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Preschool-K Sophie's teacher has assigned the class an art project: Find a tree you like a LOT and . . . paint that tree from memory. It's a fun assignment for Sophie, who loves color. However, when she joyfully paints her favorite beech tree's trunk a happy blue and the sky a popping orange, and outlines each leaf in shining yellow, her classmate Andrew says, We're supposed to paint a REAL tree, Sophie. You did it all WRONG! It's up to the teacher to uplift Sophie's crushed spirit, as she explains that pictures can use color to show feelings as well as reality. A happy conclusion celebrates a brilliant art show of diverse trees painted by the children: each has found something special and different in their depictions. Award-winning author and illustrator Bang's full-bleed, double-page spreads in rich and vibrant colors celebrate her love of the natural world, and her interiors with boldly outlined figures pop, as she demonstrates her skill and sensitivity in portraying children's emotions. A natural follow-up to her When Sophie Gets AngryReally, Really Angry (1999).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)