Book Review: Wailing Won’t Work

When my son and I sat down to read, ‘Wailing Won’t Work’, two things immediately caught our attention. First, that author Kimberly Mcarthur calls herself Kimmie Aunty. It sounded warm and friendly, like a jolly woman next door calling out to tell us a story. Second, the cute picture of a girl howling with her mouth wide open on the cover looked just like any child throwing a tantrum. My son looked a bit skeptical but I rubbed my hands in delight and read on. 

The story is about Vidya, a sprightly young girl who uses wailing as her weapon too often when she doesn’t get her way. She howls for an extra sweet, she stomps because she wants more TV time. Her family is in fix and doesn’t know how to put an end to it. Then Vidya’s wise elder sister comes up with a plan and manages to convince Vidya that throwing tantrums wasn’t cool at all. How does she do it? That’s for you to find out from the book.

Mcarthur’s writing style is crisp and airy, much like a yummy dosa on a Sunday morning. Her story gives much relief to mums with young kids like me who often really don’t know how to put an end to their child’s foot-stomping, fist-banging, howling tantrums without sounding too strict or too gentle. The characters Vidya, her sister Sargam, their parents are right out of our own families.

The illustrations are beautiful too and complement the story well. It makes an amazing read for both, the parent and the child. It’s wonderful to read a volume that deals with dilemmas that most parents face every day without sounding too preachy or ‘grown up.’ At the end, I found my four-year-old boy nodding in agreement and vowing never to be ‘wailing Vidya’ again. 

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Wailing Won’t Work is a part of a series called ‘Me and We,’ which includes other compelling titles that give out messages to children on values and social awareness, through their parents. It is a Scholastic publication. 

Do give this book a try!

To make a review based choice of a bookstore in your locality and book a package, click here

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