Come Home, Angus, written by Patrick Downes, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Olivia R.
Summary: Come Home, Angus is a well-illustrated children’s book that revolves around a young child, who is going through a tantrum. His dachshund Clive is too slow, his canary Pennycake is too loud and his pancakes are way too skinny! Things are not going well for him today. Angus feels angry and decides to run away to the big city. After a while, Angus becomes scared of all of the people and noises he hears. Luckily his mother finds him and gives him a sandwich. Although the sandwich is not to his liking, he is grateful for food and his mother’s company.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book teaches children to be thoughtful and be grateful for whatever they have, even if those things are not the most enjoyable. The illustrations are very colorful, fun and engaging. Angus woke up crabby and he did not know why. A lot of people can identify with that emotion. The illustrator is very creative when it comes to depicting the ego or confidence of Angus. For example, in the beginning, Angus is drawn relatively huge in comparison to his mother, his pets and other objects in the house. However, as the book continues and Angus travels deeper and deeper into the city, he is met with crowds of people, taller and less concerned with his issues and more concerned about their daily lives. His ego and overall confidence begins to shrink, and so does his size. When he eats lunch his mother makes him, he is grateful and happy for the comfort and love, depicted by a great big smile and warm colors. Overall, the book manages to convey a good message of being mindful and appreciative, gives a fun depiction of the characters and their development and is a quick and easy read! This book would be a great read-aloud when discussing the different kinds of emotions.