This was a lovely book to help children understand a big emotion: anger. Beautiful illustrations and simple writing help children to relate to the feelings of being mad and help them see how to let it go. I also found the tips in the back to help parents and educators useful for both one on one and in groups.

This is a great book for children about angry and how to deal with feeling angry. The tips in the back of the book for parents and how to use the book with children are really great and very helpful. This would be a great book to help children understand their emotions and deal with them in a productive way.

Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts is a terrific tool for speaking with children about anger and how to control their feelings. Simon's anger transforms into a beast and makes him feel powerful. This beast gives him control over the situation and others do not dare stand up to him. With his beasts by his side, he can always get his way, life will be great... Until he realizes he is all alone and life isn't so great. He wishes the beasts would go away! He screams at them and gets angry at them, but they refuse to leave! What can he do now? He must learn how to control his anger.
I appreciate that the book ends with showing how Simon controls his anger. I would have loved for it to go into more details or options for controlling his anger. The digital review copy I read had additional information at the end of the book on how parents and teachers could work with children and teach mindfulness. I hope that information is also included in print versions of the book.

I was unimpressed. Since the book deals specifically and only with anger that a child is having trouble controlling, I had expected the exploration of Simon's feelings to be more in-depth, nuanced, and compassionatee, and similarly had expected a variety of strategies for "taming" the beasts. Unfortunately, Simon's anger is painted with blunt strokes, tying each anger back to a simple misbehavior, assigning a weid kind of blame to Simon for his mismanagement of emotions, and resolving the problem with one simple breathing exercise. While this treatment of the subject might be helpful for mild behavior issues, I expect that parents and educators seeking out a title dealing specifically with anger will be looking for a more nuanced bibliotherapy than what is offered here. Other books dealing with the broader range of emotion might be more effective and lay less blame on the child for summoning the anger beasts. Not recommended.

Simon is a little boy with a BIG temper. And when his temper flares, he feels like different animals: a ramming goat, a roaring lion, even a giant dragon! At first, it feels wonderful to have that kind of control over people's reactions, but eventually, who wants to worry about someone's bad temper? Simon finds himself feeling pretty lonely until he learns how to tame some of those big, bad, angry beasts.

Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts is a smart, visual way to start a discussion about anger and anger management. Simon's anger manifests as exceedingly larger animals as his temper runs unchecked, and his anger gives him a feeling of power: "It was great, it was marvelous, it was magical..." until his anger alienates everyone around him. Kids will enjoy and understand the powerful feelings that come with anger, and the illustrated beasts help with visualization, and can help kids communicate their feelings when tempers flare. Repetitive phrases like "it was great..." reinforces understanding - anger can make someone feel big and powerful, especially a child who may feel otherwise powerless - while leading into the moment where "it" is no longer great, marvelous, or magical, it is lonely; the story encourages readers to seek out meditation and relaxation practices to help, like Simon, control the beasts. A section for parents and educators at the end discusses anger management in children.

Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts is a nice addition to books on emotions and feelings. Similar books include Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry and Rachel Vail's Sometimes I'm Bombaloo.

Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts is a wonderful for every family. It gives parents and children tips on how to handle their strongest emotions in a way that will bring about discussions. I would recommend this book to the all of the parents in my programs when looking for healthy ways to work their children through anger.

I don't teach really young children, but I feel this book would be great for my four year old, and for students who struggle with recognizing and dealing with feelings of anger. The illustrations were beautiful and expressive, and I especially appreciate the notes in the back for parents and teachers to help children recognize emotions and work through anger with mindfulness.

Art: Animals are manifestations of his anger (like they are his avatar made me think of Pokémon). It is interesting looking at how his relationship with the animals (thus his anger) changes as the story goes on. In the earlier part of the story he is with the animals directing them while in the later part he is losing control of his anger that is when the animals are attacking something without him being next to them.

Story: Shows it can be very satisfying to display your wrath, different forms of anger can take (lion = temper tantrum =loud), teach kids (and adults reading to deal with discourse), teach not bottle emotions, there is a guide at the end of the book at the end that talks about anger and mediation

d caused a lot of mischief." Simon is red-faced with anger, leaning back on his heels and lines coming from his open mouth to show readers how loudly he is protesting. His father is tugging on Simon's hand and pointing to his room with his mouth firmly set. But a strange thing happens when Simon is left in his room. When he pounds on the door, a big ram is suddenly there pounding along with him. And this same phenomenon happens each time he gets angry over being told, "No," or losing a game. The ram becomes an alligator, then the gator becomes a lion, the lion a rhino, and the rhino a dragon. Simon thinks it is marvelous and magical to have these angry beasts that keep people from telling him what to do or making him eat his soup. Until he suddenly notices how lonely it is. His solution for what to do about his anger incorporates a great lesson on mindfulness and embracing peace and calm.

The situations Simon is upset with are typical childhood scenes that often provoke anger or tantrums. Young readers will sympathize with Simon's desire to throw the Parcheesi board into the air when he loses. But the image of Simon with his dragon on one end of a seesaw and the other end hanging in the air empty will drive home the point that it is no fun to be alone with one's anger. All the illustrations are wonderfully done with details such as Simon's eyebrows at a maniacal slant as he rides the alligator around, or the fangs of the lion as it crouches behind him.

The moral of anger driving everyone away and leaving one lonely is shown more than explicitly spelled out, and the resolution takes some effort on Simon's part. Back matter includes a "Guide for Parents and Teachers" with special sections on using the book at home or with groups, follow-up activities, and a discussion of mindfulness as an antidote for media images and the general decline in civility. Best used with elementary school ages, particularly primary grades.

Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts was a wonderful picture book that helped explain how a child exhibits anger and how it effects the relationships in his/her life. This book is a good teaching tool for preschool aged children and up that displays the many ways that children express anger and what happens as result of that anger. There are many talking points that can be used to start a conversation with young children. It also had great illustrations conveying the different beasts that Simon’s anger manifested.

Everyone deals with anger in their own way. Initially, Simon’s burst of anger was very detrimental to those in his life. After Simon was able to release his anger in a positive manner, his life became happier.
This is a good book to teach young children about anger and the consequences that result when it gets out of control. The parent and teacher guide at the end of the story offers valuable information that also helps in dealing with anger issues.

Simon gets angry and ferocious monsters appear! He thinks that it is great to have such scary creatures scare away the things that make him mad until no one wants to play with him anymore. Simon has to learn to calm down in order to find friends again. I LOVE this picture book! I think it is a great way to get children to visualize anger and how we show our anger to others when we don't realize it as well as how to calm down. I also enjoyed the chorus, "It was great, it was marvelous, it was magical..." Students will enjoy reading this at home and at school.

When Simon gets angry, he finds that big bad beasts appear. He likes them at first-- they help him yell and throw dishes and chase his friends. But soon, nobody wants to play with him anymore. What can Simon do?

Any librarian, especially in the children's department, has seen a temper tantrum or two. De Haes' has made a great story for introducing young children to acknowledging and minding their anger and leads into some resources on mindfulness. Parents, teachers and librarians all can benefit from a title that gives a imaginative example of what anger feels like, especially when it's cathartic temper tantrums. The art is perfect with bright, eye-catching illustrations. This book is a great addition to any collection.

All children experience anger, and many do not how to handle such a big emotion. Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts provides analogies through which adults and children can talk about how anger feels and how to deal with it. It promotes the use of mindfulness and meditation with children as a way to help cope with anger when it arises. The guides and resources at the back of the book give adults invaluable information for using this book to reach kids who need it. A wonderful book to help talk about a very common, real-life situation.

I've been looking for a children's book like SIMON AND THE BIG, BAD, ANGRY BEASTS by Ian De Haes, to read to my school children and open a discussion on anger, behavior, and manners. What disappointed me the most with Simon was the ending and a lack of an apology. After outburst after outburst Simon finally finds himself alone, no one wanting to play with him, not even his parents!? I can understand other children not wanting to be around Simon because of his behavior, but his own parents? What message is that sending? Nowhere in the story do we see his parents attempt to talk or listen to him. (Maybe that is why he is so angry to get their attention??) After the first outburst he is sent to his room and that's it as far as parental involvement. Then magically, Simon on his own figures out he needs a calm, quiet place to mediate? His beasts turn into butterflies and everything's okay? If SIMON AND THE BIG, BAD, ANGRY BEASTS is a book about and dealing with anger, it fell short. That would have been a good time to insert an apology scene as well as a teachable moment on personal responsibility. I'm really disappointed. A missed opportunity.

Positive: the illustrations are bight and colorful.

eARC provided by NetGalley and Flyaway Books.

Simon can get very, very angry. When he does, frightful creatures appear. Simon thinks that it's wonderful. When his monsters are around, he always get what he wants. Nobody messes with him. But soon, Simon doesn't have anyone left. His creatures have scared his family and friends away. He becomes lonely and realizes that being angry isn't the best way to build relationships.

Lots of things I both liked and didn't like about this picture book. I thought the illustrations were beautiful and the text and story very easy to digest for a child. Being lonely is also something that I feel like a child can understand, so seeing that as the negative consequence is a good choice for this story. My main issue comes from the section for parents and teachers. Most of the information is very helpful and I love that it includes activities as well as talking points for adults to children. What I don't like is that Gee references violent media as a cause for anger issues in children. I do not agree that violent movies/tv shows/video games don't make kids violent. However, I still think this is a useful tool for parents and instructors. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This is a great read aloud to share with young children who have difficulty understanding and regulating their emotions. Perfect as a conversation starter between children and their parents and teachers.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Fly away books for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book for ages 4-8. I thought it was a cute way to show that anger can make you lose friends. That you will become lonely.. I gave it a 4.5. I thought it was written on their level with really cute graphics. Good tips at the end for parents and teachers. I found it enjoyable even for someone a grandmother's age.

A solid children's book that depicts how anger both feels and the impact on others. My only real complaint (and why I can't give it 5 stars) is that (spoiler) Simon is able to get rid of his anger "in a few moments" of trying. It's unfair to give our children that expectation that anger can be resolved in a few moments. Children are very perceptive, and they are going to know that's just not true. So, this book lost a star. But overall, a fairly good book.

This book is a great title for early elementary students to learn how to positively deal with their anger. I like that there are specific examples of situations that made him angry, and a positive way to resolve that anger.