Sometimes I'm Bombaloo

A tender story that explores BIG feelings and includes a wise take on tantrums and learning how to feel like yourself again!

Katie Honors is a really good kid -- most of the time. But sometimes... well, sometimes, say when her little brother knocks down her beautiful castle after she told him not to touch it and she knows she'll never be able to make it look that good again... sometimes Katie gets so mad she's BOMBALOO, she's just not herself. Sometimes she uses her feet and her fists instead of words.

Being Bombaloo is scary. But a little time-out and a lot of love and understanding from Mom calms Bombaloo down and help Katie feel like Katie again! This is a warm book about losing your temper and how to feel like yourself again. With Yumi Heo's bright illustrations and Rachel Vail's sweet text, this title is the perfect read aloud for librarians, teachers, and parents.

Author: Rachel Vail
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Published: 02/01/2005
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.24lbs
Size: 7.72h x 10.34w x 0.10d
ISBN: 9780439669412
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 2.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 58484 / Sometimes I'm Bombaloo


Review Citation(s):
New Yorker (The) 10/19/2009 pg. 85
School Library Journal 02/01/2017 pg. 31

About the Author

Rachel Vail is the author of many beloved picture books and novels, including Righty and Lefty, Jibberwillies at Night, Sometimes I'm Bombaloo, the Mama Rex & T series, Lucky, and You Maybe.

When I began writing novels, I promised myself I would be completely honest about how it really feels - to each of my characters - to live through a particular crisis point in growing up, says Rachel. I used all the acting training I'd had to get into each character: to know how her body moved, to understand the secret he kept from everyone, to feel her shame or pride or hope or humiliation as I walked, in her character, in my imagination, through the halls of middle school. Now that I am also writing books for younger readers, I find that the process remains pretty much the same - I try to learn everything about every character, and I ask myself lots of 'what if' questions... What if a highly anticipated playdate with a best friend goes horribly? What if a really good kid has a total meltdown?

Rachel loves talking with kids - hearing their stories and reactions, discussing their hopes and their worries. I get many of my ideas from the letters I receive and the schools I visit, from my own memories and from daily life with my two children, she explains. I had never planned to be a writer; I wanted to be a spy or a lobbyist or a teacher or maybe something to do with theater. I wanted to do something difficult and important. But I asked myself, as I ask each of my characters, what do you like most in the world? The answer was (and is): I like stories, I like books, I like to hear people laugh and watch them think, I like to sip milky tea while wearing comfy clothes, I like sentences. And so here I sit, in a little room by myself, day after day, making things up until they feel real.

Rachel grew up in New Rochelle, NY, in a suburban house with her mother, father, brother, sometimes a dog, and usually a bird. I went to Georgetown University in Washington DC in hopes of pursuing a career as a spy, says Rachel. but quickly opted instead for a major in English and theater. I worked as a tutor, a babysitter, a terrible waitress, a bookstore clerk, and backstage at a theater, before quitting everything to write my first book (Wonder) and haven't had a real job since. I am married to one of my best friends in the world, a guy who grew up down the street from me, and we have two terrific sons, Zachary and Liam. We live in New York City.

Want to know more? Visit www.rachelvail.com

Yumi Heo was born and raised in Korea, where she studied graphic design. She has written and illustrated many books, including ONE AFTERNOON. She lives in White Plains, New York, with her husband, Steve, and their children.