This handful of books is so fun to read that your kid won’t even realize he/she has just absorbed an object lesson…

Mo Willems

The Pigeon series (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late; The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too; The Pigeon Wants a Puppy)

Perfect for the consummate whiner, wheedler, pleader, and breath-holder. After they read about and laugh at the ridiculous begging and haranguing from the increasingly crazed-looking Pigeon, they might hesitate before pitching that next fit in the Thomas aisle at Target. You can always warn ahead of time, “No pigeons allowed in the store,” to put the analogy fresh in their minds.

Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama (Mad at Mama, Red Pajama)

Little Llama doesn’t like to go shopping and slowly but surely ramps himself up into a full-blown, parent-debilitating, strangers’ stares-provoking hissy fit in the middle of the store. Mama Llama handles it with more patience and conviction of character than most of us can muster in the same situation, but this sweet and silly rhyming story can serve as a template for both tantrummer and Mommy alike. After a few pages, the dead-on expressions make the llama features fall away so all you see is your own little squirming child in the shopping cart. I like to pull the one-two punch before entering a store: “Okay, boys what kind of animals aren’t allowed in here? Crazy pigeons and spazzy llamas!”

In Red Pajama, Little Llama performs the hardwired toddler ritual of the seventeen goodnights in an attempt to ward off bedtime and sleeping alone. Once again, Mama is Dr. Spock in wool as she sweetly reassures her cantankerous wee one to bravely stay quietly in bed and fall asleep. If you have a kid who’s taken deathly thirsty once clad in pj’s, this is essential bedtime reading.

Sandra Boynton

Dog Train (with CD)

The whole book and CD are great, top-notch fun, but the first track/page of lyrics, “Tantrum (performed by nineties alt band Spin Doctors),” is the perfect antidote for any leftover pre-bedtime angst and energy. The mantra starts off slow and pathetic, like a prelude to a sobfest: “Noooo. I don’t want to…” and steadily builds into a frenetic preschool-set mosh anthem: “Nonono, Idon’twanttoIdon’twantto – leave me alone leave me alone; don’t leave me alone…” When my kids are having a bummer day, this gets it out of their systems while letting them express their feelings – and I get one heck of a floor show.

Even if your little connipers don’t make the connections or refuse to acknowledge the resemblances, these are still appealing read-alouds. And maybe you can remember how silly a tantrum looks when the kids start chucking random groceries in the cart and you’re on the precipice of a head-turning Mommy-Shrew shriekdown.

No Llama Drama!