There are a lot of great books out there but if you don’t have this one as part of your library, then you should look into adding it.

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

There are so many reasons why I love this book:

The dad is the one taking the kid and doing the laundry.  Dad’s don’t often get major parts in children’s books unless the word “dad” is in the title.  

The dad allows the child to “help” with the laundry which is something that a lot of parents don’t always allow simply because “helping” usually means making a bigger mess.

There are great prepositions in this book, “in front of, through, into.”

It is a great start-off point for talking to kids about tantrums.  Once a child is calm, you can talk about how Trixie bawled, and how she threw herself on the floor.  You can talk about how your child did the same thing.  And in both cases, nothing was solved by the tantrum.  You move the discussion towards using words and how communication can solve problems much better than tantrums.   

I love the pictures and how they depict city life.

I like how it allows parents to bond together, knowing that other kids are throwing themselves on the floor in public as well. 

And the number one reason why I love this book: tantrums aren’t part of our life to make adults miserable, they have a purpose.  In this case, the tantrum was the child trying to communicate with her dad.  We often respond to tantrums with more anger rather than with compassion.  And this book is a great reminder to look what’s going on behind the tantrum and listening to the child.