The Yowlers

Grumpiness is the Yowler family’s preferred attitude. Papa grumbles. Mama shrieks. The girls wail, and the baby yowls day and night. One day, the Nicely family moves in next door. When the Nicely boys ask the girls to play, the girls are sure something must be wrong. But the boys show the girls how to play, and the girls have a nice time.

The next day, the girls choose to behave better. This confuses Mama and Papa, who think they must be sick. When Papa meets the neighbors, they offer to mow his lawn and give him cookies. This makes Papa offer to clean up with the baby at home, confusing Mama. When she sees the sparkling kitchen her family cleaned, even she begins to change however. Soon the house is filled with laughter, and grumpiness has been banished… mostly.

Stacy Lynn Carroll employs some very nice word play, especially at the beginning of the text, and Molly Ruttan cleverly transforms the Yowler family from monsters to friendly, approachable people by the end of the text. This is a cute story that might prove very useful if certain little listeners are challenged by bad attitudes.