Sometimes I Am Hot Lava

by Jody Jensen Shaffer, Amélie Videlo (Illustrator)

Overview

Sometimes when I get mad . . . Bubble . . . Boil . . . Erupt!

Most of the time, Buddy is a regular kid. He has ups and downs. But when things don't go his way, he can feel the magma bubble and boil inside of him until he erupts like a volcano. Fortunately, he knows a few ways to return to feeling as calm and cool as igneous rock.

Sometimes I Am Hot Lava shows kids like Buddy how to manage feelings of anger and frustration through mindful breathing techniques. Backmatter teaches readers about anger and helps us identify what we're feeling, why we're feeling it, and what we can do about it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506493459
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	233,726
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.00(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction for children. She earned her bachelor's in English from William Jewell College and her master's in English from Truman State University. After twelve years in corporate education, Jody left to raise her kids and fell in love with children's literature. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her family, walking her rescue dog, Sophie, and being outside in nature.

Amélie Videlo is a French/Mauritian illustrator based in the UK. Family and nostalgia from her childhood inspire her the most. She loves making pictures full of rich flora and playful characters with mediums such as gouache, acrylic, crayons, and digital painting.

Editorial Reviews

"Everyone gets mad, and this highly relatable story shows what to do when it happens. Recommended for all collections." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2024

Gr 1–3—Buddy is a regular kid who sometimes gets bubbling, boiling mad like a volcano. "I am hot lava! Fiery, hot and explosive." Usually, he can turn the heat down, but not always. At breakfast his little sister Gracie is sitting in his chair (again), then he spills milk all over himself. He manages to cool himself down by reminding himself everyone spills sometimes. Later his dog Winnie upends a board game that he was winning, causing him to heat up, but her doggie kisses cool him down again. Then he and Gracie, who both have black hair and tan skin, head to the park to play basketball, except the basket is so high that Buddy misses every shot. With each miss he gets hotter until he's lava exploding at his sister and yelling. Buddy cools down by sitting under a tree while taking deep, measured breaths and using his words to express his frustration. While Buddy can't always avoid becoming hot lava, he knows how to deal with it. Shaffer's text is engaging; it's dynamically placed in and around the illustrations, effectively enhancing them. Videlo's art gets the "day in the life" of an ordinary child just right, while seamlessly depicting Buddy when he gets "hot" with increasingly red hair and red face. Both the illustrations and text successfully embrace the lava metaphor. Solid concept and illustrations have been paired with a kid-friendly end note about being angry and what to do when it happens. VERDICT Everyone gets mad, and this highly relatable story shows what to do when it happens. Recommended for all collections.—Catherine Callegari

School Library Journal