I understand the message the author was trying to portray but the execution was all wrong. They were both being brats and to be honest not a word was said explaining the problem. The mother just wanted to be "friends" again rather than being a parent and explaining why in the first place.

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

This story was very good as well as relatable. I know I have had my moments where I have gotten overwhelmed and snapped at my child and had to apologize after because it wasn’t their fault. I love how the story was very real and explained how there may be times where mommy could be upset but they will always love you. This book is a great addition to any library.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. I loved this story!! Every mom has days like this. I hate to say it, but I never handled it this well. I didn't have anyone to come over to help either. Nicely written. Great for mom, dad and the kids. I would recommend to anyone. Thanks I gave this a 4.5!

Every parent needs to read this book to their child. Ellie's mum has been having a rough time and when it seems everything is going wrong, she loses it. After yelling at her daughter and saying some things that she didn't mean, she calls grandma for help. She and Ellie talk it out, snuggle and all is forgiven. I do not know a parent who has not lost it at one time or another. This is a great story showing children that parents do have their meltdowns as well, but they still love their children and need to be forgiven as well. A great message to everyone. Not only do the children learn, but mums will learn that it is okay to admit sometimes they need help and their mum can do that for them. They have been there too. A great book for every family library and new parent.

As a Mum who gets stressed out myself this was a really lovely read. It’s relatable and eye opening in a way sometimes only a kids book can be. I read it with my three year old son who loved the pictures and said “oh dear!” When Ellie dropped the milk and I got a cuddle at the end. It’s a good length for this kind of story too I feel, not too long and with a happy but conclusive ending.

If being honest, most parents can admit they have had a day where they struggled to keep things together. This story is one that most parents can relate to. One morning, Elly Jelly woke up grumpy and did her best to make sure her mom knew she was a bit out of sorts. While her mom was busy with her little sister Grace, Elly decided to push mom's buttons by stomping down the stairs, demanding breakfast, and making a scrapey noise with her chair, an noise she knew her mom wasn't a fan of. When her antics didn't earn her the attention of her mom, who was still having to care for Elly's younger sister, Elly attempted to get attention by banging her utensils on the table and shouting. It is at this point that Elly decides she is tired of waiting and tries to get her own breakfast, spilling the milk and wiping it up with mom's newly ironed shirt. Mom comes back to the kitchen and a huge mess that Elly has made. It doesn't take much to see why Elly's mom loses her temper and moves quickly about the kitchen banging things loudly as she cleans up, shouting at Elly about her behavior.
After both Elly and Mom's massive meltdowns, Elly flees to her room and mom calls Grandma for backup. Mom apologizes to Elly and explains that sometimes even adults get tired and don't think before we say or do things. She goes on to explain that even though she got angry, she still loves Elly very much.
This book is a great book to show kids that sometimes parents do get angry when they are tired or stressed. Sometimes life gets overwhelming for adults, just like it does for kids, and we act out as well. I think it was great to see that Mom took the time to explain and apologize, although I think it would have been nice for mom to mention the things Elly was trying to do to get attention (banging utensils, using a shouting voice, etc.) before spilling the milk was not necessary and added to mom's already stressful situation.
Overall, I felt this story absolutely relatable and think it would be a good story for those days then moms and kids have massive meltdowns. This book opens the door to an honest conversation about emotions and how we react to stressful situations. It also helps parents and children communicate their feelings in a productive way. Both Mom and Elly have behaviors that could have been better and this book is a great way to discuss these types of situations!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication!

This was a great read for me and my 5 year old. We could both relate to the characters and had a long talk afterward about emotions and how sometimes when we're stressed or overwhelmed we might yell and get angry and what things we might do instead.

Which of us, despite our best therapeutic parenting intentions, hasn’t occasionally (or, um, more than occasionally) lost the plot with our children when things have all gone pear-shaped? Ellie Jelly and the Massive Mum Meltdown is ‘a story about when parents lose their temper and want to put things right’ by Sarah Naish, with illustrations by Kath Grimshaw. It’s suitable for children aged around 2–8.

I got my hands on the Kindle version for a sneak preview.

WHAT’S THE STORY?
In the book, Ellie wakes up and immediately starts pestering poor old Mum who is clearly run off her feet taking care of two children. Ellie stomps about and is rude. (Is this ringing any bells for anyone?)

Ellie decides to make her own breakfast while Mum is busy with her younger sister Grace, who has just been sick. She spills the milk everywhere and tries to mop it up… with a top of Mum’s from the laundry pile.

Grace throws up again.

Mum (understandably) is more than a little displeased with this turn of events, and shouts at Ellie. ‘You are a very naughty girl! … I don’t know why I ever bother trying to do nice things! You both ruin everything!’

She also throws a few things about in the kitchen.

Mum is exhausted. Mum needs some self-care. I identified with Mum a lot.

Ellie then goes and hides under her bed.

Mum feels awful about the yelling and sets about making things better with Ellie.

She calls Granny, who is clearly amazing, and she pops round straight away to help out with Grace and then deliver some top-notch distraction techniques.

Mum gets under the bed with Ellie and apologises. They have a cuddle and Mum takes back what she said.

‘You don’t ruin anything. You are my little girls and I love you both more than the whole world. Sometimes even mums get cross and lose their temper though. … My mouth was saying silly, tired words.’

Everyone is calm and happy again, and other than the broken bowl in the bin, life continues as before.

WHAT I THOUGHT
Ellie Jelly and the Massive Mum MeltdownI liked it. I think it goes without saying that I have blown my stack at Joanna and Charlotte on a few occasions. I usually stop at the shouting, but – confession time – when they have really wound me up I have occasionally retaliated by breaking things of theirs in return for them breaking things of ours. Not something I’m proud of, but I am human.

Would this book help them understand? Yes, I think it is a really good way of normalising the fact that parents have strong emotions too. My children often seem to be under the impression that no other parents ever get cross! This book does a good job of making it clear that children don’t have a monopoly on losing their temper!

HOW TO GET YOUR COPY
Ellie Jelly and the Massive Mum Meltdown is out later this month. You can pre-order both print and Kindle versions using the link below.

If you have days where you feel like Mum, and you need a bit of encouragement and inspiration to look after yourself, click below to join The Adoptive Parents’ Self-Care Club for freebies, emails, and access to the private Facebook group.

Ellie Jelly is a little girl who needs more time with her busy, stressed out mom. Sweet book. <3

This is a lovely story of a parent apologizing after getting angry with her daughters.
Mum sits down and talks with Ellie about how everyone has bad days sometimes and that doesn't mean they don't love each other.

Great addition to your library!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the read.

*thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Such an honest little book. It surprised me a little as this is a whole lot of truth for very young readers but then I realised, this is reality. This is what its really like for parents. At times they loose their tempers and say brutal things. But the most important thing of all is to then apologise just as this mother did. Raising 2 small children is tough when its 24/7 and at times they can play up and things can get out of hand but then showing love and kindness makes the world of difference. This book is for all those small children to know that they are not alone, that all mother's get angry at times and it doesn't mean that they are bad kids. Everybody has bad days. I really loved the way the story shows how the mother handled the situation. I also enjoyed the illustrations. They were simple but bright and colourful. Very eye catching.

This important book is a perfect catalyst to start a family dialogue about what might cause a massive emotional meltdown and how it can hopefully be prevented in the future.

Ellie starts off the day by being very grumpy and very demanding towards her mother. She is shouting at the top of her voice for mum to come see her but unfortunately mum is busy with her little sister Grace who is ill and throwing up all over the place.

Ellie stamps down the stairs and rudely asks her mum where her breakfast is because she's hungry. Ellie keeps up the bad behaviour and mum responds with pointy eyebrows, sighing, and finally her "stop it now" face but has to rush off because baby Grace is sick once again and needs to be tended to.

Ellie is not amused or appeased and keeps banging and shouting wanting her breakfast now. She decides to take matters into her own hands and put milk on her cereal and not wait until mum returns to help her pour. That is not a great decision because the milk container is heavy and cold and as Ellie is pouring it out the milk gets out of control and splashes EVERYWHERE!! Oh my!

She tries her best to clean up the mess before mum arrives back but things even manage to get worse if that is even possible. Mum returns, surveys the mess and the damage that Ellie causes, and completely loses it. To compound matters further Grace once again throws up. That's the last straw and mum ignites. She lights up like a firecracker and totally explodes spewing unkind words, banging and crashing things around the kitchen, and even breaks a bowl in her unhinged tirade.


Can peace be restored between the two? Can calm, rationality and love flow once again in their home?

The book shows the humaness of the mum and all the strain and stress that she is experiencing. She is not only worried about Grace but is totally exhausted too. She is overwhelmed with all that is being asked of her to do. I love how the author brings it all together at the end by the softening of hearts, the asking of forgiveness and the hug-bonding that so is needed after a major (or minor) meltdown occurs.

The illustrations are colourful, expressive and could stand alone. I like the book a lot and would recommend it for sure.

Great book for explaining to young children why mum sometimes losses it, but a cuddle and apology makes everything better. Also helps a young child to understand how it feels when they try and do the right thing but it all goes badly wrong. Great illustrations, too.

3.5 Stars

This is a very good title that could be amazing... The story of mum's meltdown is one that I wish was shown more often in children's books. Everyone loses their temper at some point. I liked that the story validated how Ellie Jelly feels scared when her mum loses her temper. It also does a great job of showing contrition when mum apologizes to Ellie and says that sometimes being tired makes her say mean things that she doesn't mean. Ellie realizes they will be friends again.

The storyline is good. It's one I would absolutely read and enjoy with my children. The negative here is the illustrations. I think if the illustrations were revamped this would be a must have title.

This book is great as it sums up what we all know happens as mums, but sometimes we don't want to admit it! Yes it's true, all kids can be annoying and instead of being calm and patient like the books tell us to, we can get angry in the heat of the moment. This book illustrates that in a way that isn't patronising or too childish, but simple enough that you can read it with your children. It's worth a read through by yourself first, so you can get the mum guilt (and tears) out of the way before you sit down with your child. It's also a good idea to have some real examples / scenarios to talk through afterwards (I had no trouble coming up with these!)

Ellie Jelly is the story of Ellie's mum who has a 'massive mum meltdown' and how this affects Ellie. I thought this was a fantastic concept, as it normalises the fact that mums DO struggle, and they do occasionally lose their patience when things get on top of them. But the moral at the end of the story is that Ellie's mum still loves her and makes sure to show her that when it comes to bed time, and explains to Ellie why she had a 'meltdown', before apologising. A very important message, it reminds young people aged around 3-7 that even if mummy (or daddy) gets cross, their parents still love them.

I have been there. I have been so tired that I have shouted at my kid. It happened when she was a new born, and it happened when she was older. It is never fun to have a mom break down, and shout horrid things at your kid. It scares them. And like the Mum in this book, once you calm down, you can come and reassure the kid that everything is ok, and that you were tired, and not to worry, that they are still loved.

It is exhausting being a mother. Kids wear you out. Things happen. So, having this picture book to explain that to kids, is a Good Thing(tm). Kids want to be reassured that things will turn out alright.

I recommend this book for schools, libraries and for homes. I feel that this reassurance is important in this scary world.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This is a story about Ellie and her mum having a very bad day. Mum yells at Ellie and says something not very nice leading mum to apologize. In all honesty, I hate this book. Ellie was being a brat. And mum apologizes for being a grown up version of a brat, but they never talked over what was causing this in the first place. It would have been the opportune time. Then at the end, mom wants to know if they can be “friends” again. That is the part I hate the most. Stop being a friend and be a parent.

Ellie wakes up hungry, but mum is busy with her baby sister. She sits at the table and tries to get mum's attention by making noises and banging her cutlery, but mum is really busy and asks her to behave. So, Ellie decides to make her own breakfast. But things don't go that smoothly, and when mum sees the mess Ellie made, she loses her temper. Ellie feels scared and anxious. Will mom calm down? Are they still friends?

This is a beautiful book that teaches children that adults can get angry, too. It shows us that everyone can have a bad day. It's only natural that we all lose our temper from time to time. Sometimes we even say mean things that we really don't mean.

Along with beautiful illustrations, parents and children can both gain some very important life lessons through this wonderful story of Ellie and Mum.