When I see Red by Britta Teckentrup

"I'm blinded by fury. I'm furiously mad. But I can see clearly that change is ahead!"

When I see Red is such a brave exploration of the emotion of anger. As you turn the pages of this book the colour change from violent red through to calm pink and the words change from furious wild anger through to a beautiful moment of peace.

This book is sure to appear on lots of award lists over the coming year. Here is an interview with Britta where she talks about this book. 

Publisher blurb Penguin Random House: The heroine of this beautifully illustrated story feels her anger like a storm in a dark forest. It sweeps her away, and she thunders and howls. She pours down her emotions like sheets of rain; rage surges like a wind whipping angry waves. Her anger takes her on a wild ride.  Appropriate for a wide variety of ages, this book illustrates many aspects of anger that are often hard to articulate — how overwhelming it is, how isolating, even scary. But it also shows anger to be a source of power and an agent for change. Teckentrup’s impactful, boldly coloured paintings skilfully evoke the way intense anger can take us on an emotional journey, one that can be both exhausting and affirming. This beautiful tribute to one girl’s experience of anger offers readers the opportunity to make sense of, and talk about their own feelings of rage in a time when that kind of understanding is more important than ever.

This might not be a book you had to your home book collection but I think it is one you should add to your school library - Primary School and High School. This book might also be one to share with your school welfare team or school counsellor. With older students you could link this book with a discussion about the power of protests and the importance of speaking out.

"My rage gives me power. My rage keeps me safe. My rage makes me stronger. My rage makes me brave!"

Here are some of the wonderful and powerful words : howling; roaring; gushing; pouring; twistng; twirling; untamed; furious; bellowing; booming; hurtling; blazing; flashing.

Through her dramatic paintings, and words relating to earth and the elements, Britta portrays an emotional journey that offers youngsters both an affirmation of, and an opening to talk about their own feelings of anger. Red Reading Hub - you can see some art from this book in this review

The transition from the child’s red anger and rage to letting it go is, fabulously, depicted first as crashing waves and then as a panther the child rides astride. The ever smaller type used reiterates this new calm alongside puffy clouds in a blue sky. Kirkus

Although we never know exactly what it is that enrages our young protagonist, Teckentrup provides them with words and a backdrop of visual, visceral red-hot imaginings as they become a ‘furious dragon you cannot ignore’, and a ‘hurricane, whirlwind, twister, typhoon’: a perfect storm that results in a sense of long-awaited freedom after having ‘been silent too long’. Books for Keeps

About Britta: Britta Teckentrup grew up in a town called Wuppertal. She moved to London in 1988 to study illustration and fine art at St Martin’s College and the Royal College of Art and ended up staying in England for 17 years. Britta has created over 30 books, translated into 20 different languages. Britta’s illustrations have appeared in magazines, on homewares, clothes and packaging. Britta now lives and works in Berlin with her artist husband, young son, Vincent, and their cat. Nosy Crow

Here is a list you could explore with other books that focus on the emotion of anger.