The Best Worst Day Ever

Arthur is having one of those days where nothing goes right, and he gets in such a temper that the only thing is to run away. So, he does – after packing some essentials – all the way to the end of the garden.

Yet, when he gets there, Arthur finds that the way back to the house has been replaced with a very thick, dark forest. Even more oddly, inside the forest, he finds a stompy bear, a roaring lion and a very huffy elephant. Despite their initial appearances, the bear, lion and elephant turn out to be quite a lot of fun, and by the time Arthur has danced and sung and tooted and hooted with them, his house has reappeared through the trees and it’s time to go home.

Sophy Henn’s sweet, fun book about tantrums and how we might best work them out is a real winner. Presented in her familiar bright, bold illustrative style, readers immediately relate to Arthur, and the feeling we all get sometimes where everything gets a bit much and some time out is needed.

There’s a nod to Where The Wild Things Are here in Henn’s story about an angry boy that runs off to a forest and makes friends with the wild animals: like Sendak’s classic, the story accepts Arthur’s wildness and allows a safe space for him to shout, stomp and huff it all out.