Steps and Stones: An Anh’s Anger Story

Anh is left out of a recess play session, and his companion, Anger, a red-haired fellow wearing shoes remarkably like Anh’s, suggests a way of getting back at the boys who have left Anh out of their game. But Anh finds something else to do with his Anger: walking meditation, which yields some unexpected connections. This offbeat story makes the potentially cerebral topic of dealing appropriately with anger simple and delightfully visual. Krömer’s predominantly green palette in collages combined with brush and pencil drawings is almost contagiously soothing, and makes the red of Anger visually exclamatory. The children represent non-Caucasian ethnicities, which is a pleasant change from standard depictions. In their second collaboration, Silver and Krömer (Anh’s Anger) have developed a winning series. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)