by Alicia Rudnicki, Library Mix

Don’t Pop Your Cork on Mondays: The Children’s Anti-Stress Book, by Adolph Moser, Ed.D., Landmark Editions, 1988, ISBN 0-933849-18-4
Available at Powell's Books

Less than a decade before his Captain Underpants series made author-illustrator Dav Pilkey wildly popular, his wacky art brightened the kid’s self-help book ,Don’t Pop Your Cork on Mondays: the Children’s Anti-Stress Book.

Written by psychologist Adolph Moser, Don’t Pop Your Cork is still one of the best books on the market for helping parents support their children in understanding and moderating difficult emotions, including anger and frustration.

Lions, monkeys, and bulls, oh my!
Dr. Moser playfully wrote, “Some people who are under stress growl and snarl like lions. Others act like monkeys and ‘go bananas.’ Still others lose control and act like bulls. They smash everything in sight.”

Pilkey had a field day creating lions, monkeys, bulls, children and parents losing their cool whether by shouting, crying or becoming so quiet they turn into turtles who “crawl into their shells.”

Some books don’t grow old. This one still has youthful goofiness combined with adult wisdom. It presents the opportunity for a gentle approach to discussing problems that may be occurring at school or home.

Don’t Pop Your Cork contains numerous specific calming techniques children can easily remember. These include (1) shaking your tension away, (2) tightening and then relaxing muscles, (3) taking deep breaths, and (4) visualizing peacefulness.

Childhood learning struggles
In the “Meet Dav” section of his website, Pilkey says he didn’t get good grades in school. He had “reading problems, and I didn’t learn the same way that most of the other kids in my class learned.”

But when he felt discouraged and like a failure, Pilkey says, he could count on "a lot of encouragement and support from my parents.”

Pilkey was in his early twenties and not far away from those difficult childhood experiences when he illustrated Don’t Blow Your Cork.

His new graphic novel, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, will be published this August and is likely to please teachers of frustrated, reluctant readers everywhere.

Humor relieves tension
It’s possible to say that, similar to Dr. Moser, Dav Pilkey specializes in helping children overcome stress. Humor is a great tool for calming children, and all of Pilkey’s books are winners at making kids laugh.

Working with a different illustrator, Dr. Moser went on to write a whole week’s worth of children’s books on topics ranging from self-esteem to grief management.

All are still available from online booksellers. But you can also find them and Pilkey’s books at the library—a cool, soothing place to go when recovering from popping one’s cork.