Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day

by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell (Illustrator)

Overview

Today I Feel Silly helps children understand and appreciate their shifting moods. Relatable and funny, perfect for sharing with anyone struggling with moods.

Jamie Lee Curtis's zany and touching verse, paired with Laura Cornell's whimsical and original illustrations, helps kids explore, identify, and, even have fun with their ever-changing moods.

Silly, cranky, excited, or sad—everyone has moods that can change each day. And that’s okay! Follow the boisterous, bouncing protagonist as she explores her moods and how they change from day to day.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling team of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell, authors of I’m Gonna Like Me and Where Do Balloons Go?

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060245603
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/31/2007
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	44,417
Product dimensions:	11.24(w) x 9.82(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	AD250L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jamie Lee Curtis has had many firsts: her first (and only) marriage to Christopher Guest, her first time holding her children, Annie and Tom, her first time pretending to be a customer in an episode of Quincy, and her first time she wrote words that became her first book. She lives in Los Angeles, the first city she ever lived in, and is always first in line, first to arrive, first to leave, and first to sleep.

Laura Cornell lives in New York City with her daughter, Lily (first and only), but they spend much time in California, Laura's first state in her first home. She was asked to illustrate Jamie's first book, and that became ten. Lucky is the first word that comes to mind.

Editorial Reviews

Fans of Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born and When I Was Little may be disappointed in this third offering from the talented duo, which looks at the wide range of human emotions. A dynamic girl describes a different "feeling" per day--13 in all--and the ways in which each manifests itself ("Today I feel silly./ Mom says it's the heat./ I put rouge on the cat/ and gloves on my feet"). Curtis relays her upbeat message ("Moods are just something that happen each day./ Whatever I'm feeling inside is okay!") in verse that is largely sprightly, but doesn't always reflect the changes in mood that occur during the course of the day the girl describes. For example, "Today I am quiet, my mom understands./ She gave me two ice creams and then we held hands./ We went to the movies and then had a bite./ I cried just a little and then felt all right," suggests a variety of feelings other than simply "quiet." Occasionally rhyming couplets take the facile route ("Today I'm discouraged and frustrated--see?/ I tried Rollerblading and fell on my knee"), and the repetitive, driving rhythm doesn't allow the words to soar the way the illustrations do. The puckish artwork, still vintage Cornell, stars a curly red-headed girl whose near-neon surroundings (hot pink, lime green, fiery orange) change in intensity according to the emotion she expresses. A "mood wheel" (for readers to hone in their feelings) rounds out this amiable enough outing that, despite its missteps, may get readers talking about their own emotional swings. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The young narrator is a mood factory: one day silly, the next sad, then bouncing back with a joyful outlook. For the most part, the girl's briskly versified explanations for her moods are reactive. She is angry when her feelings are hurt after being snubbed, sad when she and her friend have a fight, confused by the prospects of a sibling, frustrated by failed attempts to rollerblade, encouraged by success at knitting. Curtis (Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, also illustrated by Cornell, 1996) smartly includes a couple of moods—quiet, grumpy, that have no obvious source, moods that perplex and even scare children, who need to know just how okay they are:

Today I am quiet, my mom understands./She gave me two ice creams and then we held hands./We went to the movies and then had a bite./I cried just a little and then felt all right.

Cornell's illustrations are a splash of candy colors, as expressive and inviting as the text.

Kirkus Reviews