bad mood on the prowl

I liked this book. Mostly because I could relate. Haven't we all been in one of those inescapable bad moods? The kind that makes us want to be thoroughly mean to strangers just because their existence annoys us? The kind that makes us feel like some great beast from within is try to rip right through our skin...no, just me? Well, I suppose Bell Hooks must know something about it too. Once again, Raschka and Hooks collaborate for Grump Groan Growl which is about a boy whose bad mood is literally a monster on the prowl that he can't get rid of. Once again, Hook's words are incorporated into Raschka's art and handwritten by the illustrator. I think Hook's actual storyline is a bit hard to understand because she writes with a strange rhythm. It's more like a poem. I'm not sure how many kids would get the figurative language of just letting their bad mood 'slide'. I read this with a first grader and, while he enjoyed the book (Hooks repeats a few of the sentences, which are nice and short and convey an idea in a single word sometimes, so he even tried to read with me the second time through), I'm 97% sure he didn't totally understand it. I think what really drew him in were Raschka's illustrations. They have this really masculine aggression to them. I don't even know how. But he uses bold colors and there's a certain angry sloppiness to them. Splotches, like someone pressed too hard with the brush or were so upset they couldn't see straight, and thus, missed their mark a few times. Who knows? But the effect is, erm...effective.