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Llyfr i blant ifanc sy'n trafod 'hwyliau drwg'.
Book for young children discussing 'bad moods.'
Gwasg/publisher: Atebol
Cyhoeddwyd/released: 2018
Addasiad/adaptation: Eurig Salisbury
Pris: £7.99
ISBN: 978-1912261314
Lefel her/challenge level: ❖
Dyma stori sy’n taclo emosiynau mawr, cymhleth a heriol mewn ffordd sydd mor ddealladwy â phosib i blant ifanc.
Mae ‘hwyliau drwg’ Daf yn cychwyn fel rhywbeth bach - dros ddim byd a dweud y gwir. Sgwn i os oedd deilen wedi chwythu yn ei wyneb? Ta waeth, mae’r hwyliau drwg yn sgubo drosto fel storm fawr, gan dyfu a thyfu. Mae’r bachgen yn cynhyrfu gymaint ag yn mynd mor flin, does dim posib dod yn ôl, ac mae’n mynd o ddrwg i waeth. Rhywbeth bach i gychwyn, sydd wedi mynd yn rhywbeth llawer mwy.
Mae gwaith yr awdur a gwaith y darlunydd yn mynd llaw yn llaw yma, ac mae’r ddau yn plethu gyda’i gilydd yn dda i greu trosiad (metaphor) sy’n helpu i drafod teimladau mewn ffordd ddealladwy a gweledol. Mae emosiwn a thymer yn gysyniad abstract ac mae’r syniad o sgubo dail yn un diddorol, gwahanol ac effeithiol.
Wrth i’r hwyliau drwg dyfu, mae Daf yn sgubo popeth i fyny; y dail, y bobl, y beics, yr adeiladau, nes mae o’n bentwr anferthol. Y neges: mae pethau wedi mynd rhy bell. Dwi’n teimlo dros Daf, a dwi’n siŵr fydd plant yn gallu uniaethu gyda theimlad Daf o fod yn euog, ac yn helpless gan ei fod wedi colli pob rheolaeth. Tybed fydd Daf yn gallu dod yn ôl o hyn?
Dwi’n licio’r ffaith fod gan yr hwyliau drwg gymeriad, neu lais. Debyg i’r syniad traddodiadol o ddiafol ar yr ysgwydd. Mae Daf yn cwestiynu: “ydi hyn werth o?” ond mae’r hwyliau drwg yn ei annog ymlaen, yn mwynhau’r holl beth.
Erbyn diwedd y nofel, mae Daf wedi penderfynu mai digon yw digon ac mae’r storm wedi chwythu’i blwc. O’r diwedd mae’r byd yn olau eto. Dangosai hyn eich bod chi’n gallu dod yn ôl o hwyliau drwg a does dim rhaid i’r storm lyncu popeth. Erbyn y diwedd, mae gan Daf fwy o reolaeth os yw’r hwyliau byth yn bygwth dod yn ôl.
Mae nifer o blant yn cael trafferth rheoli eu tymer, a dwi’n meddwl fod y llyfr yma’n un da er mwyn eistedd gyda phlentyn a thrafod eu teimladau i drio gwneud synnwyr ohonynt. Mae’r copi llyfrgell sydd gen i wedi cael ei fenthyg 11 gwaith mewn jest dros blwyddyn!
Ceir yma arlunwaith bendigedig sy’n gwneud defnydd llawn o liwiau llwm a hydrefol. Maent yn fy atgoffa o luniau L.S.Lowry braidd. Mae’r text wedi ei osod mewn siapiau diddorol ac mae’r ffaith eu bod yn ddwyieithog yn dda iawn. Ella bod y tudalennau tywyll angen ffont sy’n fwy darllenadwy e.e. lliw gwyn.
Dyfarniad: Llyfr dwyieithog da i rieni neu athrawon i’w ddefnyddio i drafod ‘hwyliau drwg.’
This is a story that tackles big, complex and challenging emotions in a way that is as understandable as possible to young children.
Daf’s ‘bad mood’ starts out as something small – about nothing to tell the truth. Perhaps a stray leaf blew in his face? Regardless of how it started, the foul mood sweeps over him like a thunderstorm, growing and growing. The boy gets more wound up and is in a temper that seems impossible to come back from. It goes from bad to worse.
The author's work and that of the illustrator go hand in hand here, and the two work together well to create a visual metaphor that helps to discuss an abstract concept such as feelings in an understandable and relatable way. Strong emotions such as anger are difficult to explain to young minds and so the sweeping of leaves is an interesting, different yet effective way of doing this.
As the bad mood grows, Daf sweeps everything up; the leaves, the people, the bikes, the buildings, until it is a huge pile. The anger consumes everything essentially. Things have gone too far. I feel for poor Daf, and I'm sure children will be able to identify with feelings of guilt and helplessness when all control is lost. Will Daf be able to come back from this?
I was pleased that the bad mood was given a character voice. Similar to the traditional idea of a devil on the shoulder. Daf questions: ‘Is this really worth it?’ but the ‘bad mood,’ influences him and encourages it, almost thriving on it.
By the end of the book, Daf has decided that enough is enough and the storm has blown over. At last the world is bright again. This shows that you can come back from a bad mood and the storm doesn't have to swallow everything. By the end, he has more control if it ever threatens to come back. A good opportunity to talk about calming and distraction techniques.
Many children have trouble managing their temper and I think this book is a good one to sit down with a child to try to make sense of these feelings. The library copy that I'm using has been borrowed 11 times in just over a year!
The images make full use of Autumnal colours and they remind me a little of L.S. Lowry paintings. The text is set in interesting shapes and the fact that it’s bilingual is handy.Perhaps the dark pages could do with more readable font colours, e.g. white
Verdict: A good bilingual book for parents or teachers to discuss ‘bad moods.’
About the original author:
Louise Greig is a poet and children's picture book author. She lives in Aberdeen, Scotland, and when she's not busy telling stories, she is the director of a rescue home for dogs.
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