Fighting Words

Starred review from August 1, 2024
A boy's anger literally buzzes to life and runs amok in the shape of words. When Ali notices his cousin Ama mistreating his insect book, he moves to snatch it from her hands. During the skirmish, a page gets ripped out. In anger, Ali lets loose a yell; scrawled letters unexpectedly fill the air. His rage builds until he screams, "I HATE YOU!!!" The anthropomorphized letters quickly jump into action, attacking Ama and tearing up the couch and Abuelita's special cushions. Despite Ali's objections, the letters continue their fiendish assault. Soon, the devious letters go outside, smashing bushes and flowers. One letter even attempts to hurt a bee! Inspired by his insect book and joined by Ama and Abuelita, Ali rushes to stop the letters with a net, learning how best to release his anger along the way. Adopting a refreshingly empathetic perspective, Carranza adroitly depicts Ali's transformation. The child's wrath turns to observation--of the impact of hurtful words uttered amid a cloud of pain--and then to a recognizable potential to undo unintended emotional wounds while still acknowledging that initial anger. Overall, it's an excellent message to potential anger-prone readers, wrapped in an understanding tone. Medina's brisk, dynamic artwork whisks the action from page to page, boasting humorous creature letters with mean smiles and gruff frowns. The brown-skinned characters read as Latine. A perceptive consideration of the effects of anger--and a much-needed blueprint for how to deal with them.(Picture book. 4-7)

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September 23, 2024
When Ali’s cousin Ama takes his favorite insect book and handles it roughly, it results in a tussle—and a torn page. The anger Ali immediately feels transforms into shouted words; Medina (Adela’s Mariachi Band) shapes the letters of the phrase “I hate you” into black stick figures with toothy mouths and raised hands. The words first push Ama, then go on a tear, ripping the sofa cushions, jumping out the window, and crushing Abuelita’s flowers (“They even tried to punch a bee”). Ali fetches a net, and the family chases the words as they do still more damage, biting a neighborhood dog and trapping Ama under the net. Medina captures the action in cartoon-style artwork that makes the Latinx-cued characters’ facial expressions easy to read. At last, Ali discovers that making amends causes the words to grow smaller. Even simple truth-telling (“I’m still angry”) shrinks the letters, which “flickered and disappeared” in the face of repair. In clear language, Carranza (Abuelita and Me) writes a fast-moving fable that casts hurtful language as a literal force and focuses not just on regulating emotion but on the power of peacemaking, too. Ages 4–7.