Maya Was Grumpy

An artful mixture of fantasy and reality, humor and heart, Maya Was Grumpy celebrates the power of imagination and humor to improve moods. Maya wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, tangled in her blanket, and in a crispy, cranky, grumpy, grouchy mood. She doesn’t want to read or color or go outside to play. What’s worse, she’s determined to share her grumpiness with everyone as she glumps, clumps, and thumps around the house. But when Maya growls at her grandmother, Gramma graciously takes Maya’s mood in stride, and even has a solution: Gramma suggests a series of unusual activities that Maya will probably not want to do since she’s feeling grumpy—and then dismisses her own silly suggestions before Maya can reject them. Children will find it hard to keep from smiling as they watch Maya’s grouchiness dissolve into glee at Gramma’s giggle-inducing ideas, while adults will find Gramma’s clever tactic a useful strategy to add to their repertoire when kids are grumpy.

Courtney Pippin-Mathur is an artist and children’s book author. She has a degree in studio art and teaches art classes. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.