Arthur Throws a Tantrum

Elizabeth St. Jacques is the author of Echoes All Strung Out and
Survivors: The Great Depression, 1929-1939.

Young Arthur has just “destroy[ed] almost everything” in his bedroom
because his father forced him to return the basset hound puppy he had
found earlier that morning. More than anything else in the whole world,
Arthur wants a basset hound like his best friend’s. So Arthur
barricades himself in his room and screams, “Either I get a REAL
basset hound, just like Annie McCubbins’, or I will NEVER EVER come
out of my room again!” In the end, Arthur regrets his tantrum, cleans
up his bedroom, and gets a dog.

Young readers will undoubtedly identify with Arthur’s anger and
celebrate the story’s happy ending, but Arthur’s violent and
destructive behavior sends out disturbing signals, while the clean-up of
his bedroom is entirely unrealistic. In any case, hasn’t this theme
been done to death? Not recommended.