Olive and the Bad Mood by Tor Freeman

I loved Tor Freeman's Olive and the Big Secret, which came out last year and I waited eagerly for Olive's next adventure! Finally here, Olive's Bad Mood is every bit as fun, funny, linearly paced and in tune with the ups and downs of kidhood as Olive and the Big Secret. Both of Freeman's Olive books have teachable moments, which is something I usually avoid in picture books because it's so hard to be subtle and successful, most books of this nature proving heavy handed and didactic. Freeman's Olive is definitely more subtle and successful, especially since she is not always skillful about how she handles herself, her stories being a healthy mix of, "Don't be like Olive, but I know you probably will at some point and if you do, this is how you might want to handle things..."

Source: Review Copy
Source: Review Copy