Fights between children and their parents cause a lot of unhappiness. Harsh words are said, feelings are hurt, and often both sides feel that they are in the right, which makes it hard to bring about a reconciliation. In today's picture book, Elissa Haden Guest tells the story of a fight between a mother and her daughter.
Elissa Haden Guest
Illustrated by Paul Meisel
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Candlewick Press, 2009, 978-0-7636-3454-4
Harriet is playing with her toys in the living room when her mama comes in. The little raccoon girl has made a real mess of the room and her mama tells her to clean it up. Instead of doing what she is told, Harriet keeps on playing with her train set and then she tells her mother to “Go away – I’m busy!”
Not surprisingly, Harriet’s mama is not happy that her daughter is being so rude. When Harriet really goes too far, her mother carries her to her room and she tells Harriet that she is “fed up,” and she closes the door “hard behind her.” Harriet decides there and then that she too is “fed up” and she is going to run away. Nothing anyone says is going to change her mind.
Every so often, parents and their children have a fight and it is a miserable experience for everyone. In this picture book, Elissa Haden Guest presents just such a fight in a sympathetic and sensitive way, showing readers how both parties feel hurt and lonely, and how forgiveness is a large part of repairing a rift between people who love one another.
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