Books with Characters Behaving Badly: Interesting for Children as well as Adults
As adults, we’re fascinated by stories of complex characters behaving badly. The recent popularity of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is just one example. But the fascination with bad behavior isn’t reserved for adults alone; children are also interested in stories that depict complex characters who display authentic emotions and less than stellar behaviors.
There are, in my experience, two kinds of books in this category, those that are heavy-handed in their attempt to teach lessons about how to treat others, and those that allow children to make up their own minds about how they might behave in a similar situation. The first imposes an adult imperative on the child’s behavior, the second acknowledges that the young character’s view of what led to the situation will likely differ from the adults', and by extension that real children might also have differences of opinion about sticky situations.
Take Julius, the Baby of the World by Keven Henkes. Before Julius is born, Lilly is excited about the idea of having a sibling. But once he arrives, she sees her parents doting on him and realizes she doesn’t like him very much after all. She is mean to him in a variety of ways, including telling him he’s ugly and reciting the alphabet out of order.
Another example is Ravi, as seen in Ravi’s Roar by Tom Percival, who gets angry at always being the sibling who is youngest, smallest, slowest, and last. On a trip to the park, he is too small for the big slide and his sibling gets the last ice cream, so he turns into a tiger who roars at everyone.
Spinky is also upset with his whole family in Spinky Sulks by William Steig. Even when they come and apologize for real and imagined slights, like correcting him about what the capital of Belgium is, he refuses to forgive them. He holds onto his grudge for days while his family and friends try to cheer him up in ever more creative ways.
And you’re likely familiar with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. As much as Alexander tries to behave, he just can’t manage it. Indeed, while picking up his father from work, he is asked not to play with the copy machine or phone but thinks he may have called Australia on accident. The illustration depicts his long-suffering parents.
These stories all feature not only children behaving badly but also differences in perspective between characters, which is why they are so intriguing. Lilly’s parents love Julius, Ravi’s siblings are just being themselves, Spinky’s brother actually was correct about the capital of Belgium, and Alexander’s dad did tell him not to mess with the copy machine, but he forgot. Differences in perspective that lead to hard feelings are even more apparent in Now Everybody Really Hates Me by Jane Read Martin & Patricia Marx with illustrations by Roz Chast. Patty Jane has been sent to her room for hitting her brother and calling him names. She disputes her parents’ version of the events (she only "touched him hard") and has decided that she’s going to stay in her room for the rest of her life (unless there’s something yummy for dinner).
Why, you might ask, would we want to read a story about a child who’s behaving badly? Don’t we want books to model the way we want children to behave, not give them examples of poor behavior? Shouldn’t books always be very clear about teaching children what is right? There can be a place in your child’s library for books that teach children correct behaviors, but in my experience as a preschool teacher those books are not ones that children themselves are interested to read multiple times. Reading should be an engaging and repeated experience for young readers, and books that only preach at children don’t tend to entice children to read them multiple times. Books that depict flawed characters that children can identify with are much more intriguing.
Books in this category also demonstrate that positive endings are possible without promising that life will be rosy from here on out. While Lilly's opinion of Julius changes for good and Ravi never turns into a tiger again, Alexander knows that there will be more hard days in the future, even in Australia. Spinky and Patty Jane think they may accept their families’ attempts at reconciliation, but the authors leave open the question of whether there will be more hard feelings in the future.
These more ambiguous endings allow children to consider what might happen next for these characters, whether they will reform their behavior or continue to make mistakes. For example, the titular character in The Bad Seed by Jory John and Pete Oswald decides to behave better in the future, like holding doors for people, but is realistic about how common that new behavior will likely be (“Not always. But sometimes.”) and is positive about future change (“All I can do is keep trying.”).
Children can identify with a character who isn’t perfect all the time, and feel comforted by examples of unconditional love and the chance to change in the future. Feeling unconditional love from our families is something that feels good for people of all ages, children and adult alike, and helps us feel confident that change is possible. So read your children or students stories about poorly behaved characters; they’ll thank you for it later!
