Do SOMETHING! Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Bird woke up one morning on the wrong side of the nest.

He was too grouchy to eat or to fly.

"LOOKS LIKE I'LL BE WALKING TODAY!" HE SAID.

Sheep bleated at him blithely, as Bird stomped by, asking what he is doing.

"WALKING!"

Sheep was good at following, so he joined Bird just as Rabbit hopped into view and asked what Bird is doing.

"WALKING. IT'S NO FUN." Bird snapped.

Raccoon poked his nose out and asked the same question.

"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?" SAID BIRD.

The two joined the procession right behind Sheep.

Beaver asked what Bird was doing.

"HINT: YOU PLACE ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE THE OTHER ONE," GROUCHED BIRD.

Fox slips out of the forest to ask what is going on with this parade.

"I'M WALKING, OKAY?" BIRD SNAPS!

Fox falls in line behind the others.

Bird plodded on doggedly, muttering to himself.

"WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M DOING?"

Bird decided to demonstrate to his followers just how silly they looked, trailing along behind him.

He tried hopping on one leg. He jumped straight up. They all repeated his actions.

Wait! It's like a game of Monkey see, monkey do!" They'll do anything he does.

"THIS IS FUN!" Bird suddenly decided.

It's hard to stay grumpy when you have a line of silly animals behind you, imitating your every move, in Jeremy Tankard's Grumpy Bird (Scholastic Books), as Bird suddenly sees himself in his motley imitators, and he is no longer in a bad mood. He is in a great mood! "Jeremy Tankard's deceptively simple tale is a useful tonic for moody kids -- and their parents -- but the best thing about it is the comic perfection of Bird's face as he marches along in a fury," says The Wall Street Journal. For a double dose of mood enhancer, share this one with Suzanne and Max Lang's best-selling and equally funny, Grumpy Monkey. (See my review here)