Cover Image: Is a Worry Worrying You?

Is a Worry Worrying You?

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Member Reviews

A fantastic book that I shared with my 8 year old daughter who has anxiety, as do I. It made her see that she is in control of her worries and all she needs to do is think about something else or talk to me and we can imagine a better scenario.
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This was a fabulous book. My son deals with anxiety as part of his autism symptoms and this book was a great way to talk to him about feelings. I highly recommend any parent dealing with worried kids to try this book.
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A wonderful children's book thinly veiled as a kind of self-help manual for little worriers!

I really like this book. It uses a big, blue monster as a symbol for Worry or anxiety. It explains page-by-page how one might become worried or anxious, and how to overcome this. It suggests talking to someone about Worry, engaging in activities or hobbies to take your mind off of Worry, telling Worry to go away, etc. I love how it even hints gently at the idea of mindfulness as a means of easing anxiety, something which I think is important for children to learn from a young age: to think about what is happening now and not what could happen.

The illustrations, too, are wonderful. They are very Tim Burton-like, which I love. They aren't too scary, however, for young readers.

Is a Worry Worrying You is a lovely little children's book that I think would be both an enjoyable and a useful addition to your children's library.
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"It's hard to worry when you're reading this book. The pictures make you laugh so hard, you can't remember what it was that made you worry in the first place." This unsolicited review from a 10-year-old, self-described 'worrywart' is what totally sold me on this book. If you've a young child or even a young adult in your home/library/classroom who suffers from anxiety, you know how hard it is to turn their attention to something else when they descend into worrying. Try this book. It's hard to keep worrying for the few minutes it takes to read through, so at least you'll break the 'worry cycle' for a bit! Good read-aloud for small groups of first- through fourth-graders. Teens in my library got a kick out of it as well, and it sparked discussion about how to help those who worry.
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Is a Worry Worrying You is a cute book with an interesting way of teaching children the definition of worries, and how to get rid of the worries that plague them. The book starts with a few pages of examples of what a worry is, how it comes about, and what is feels like. Mid way through the book seamlessly shifts gears to laying out several examples of situations that children can find themselves in by worrying, along with a simple, but very practical approach to what they should do to remedy it.

I recommend this book especially to children ages four through eight. It is a wonderful conversation starter, and a particular must have if you have a little worrywart on your hands.
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This lovely and inventive book intends to help children deal with their worries and fears. Beginning with the definition "A worry is a thought that stops you from having fun, from feeling good, from being happy."  From there, the author presents a series of amusing and improbable things that might happen and produce a worry.  Things such as 100 elephants stopping in for tea to a monster moving in under your bed, each with a handy solution of how to deal with the situation.  Kids are reminded that everyone has worries, not just them, and that they have the power to deal with those worries and make them go away.
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I wanted to like this book.  I actually read it three or four times, hoping that I would like it more on each reading.  But that didn't work; I actually liked it even less.  I love the premise of the book - teaching children how to handle anxieties and worries.  But when I asked the children in my life about the book, they didn't like the looks of it and didn't even want to read it together.  The pictures were just too scary for them.  The picture of a monsterish sort of thing (the worry personified) on nearly every page, plus all the dark outlining and shading - it's all just too scary.  A couple of the children couldn't understand the personification of the worry at all.  

I liked some of the suggestions -- choosing to actively do something else rather than dwelling on the thoughts, singing songs, and so on -- were all great ideas.  I would have liked to have seen them illustrated a bit better.

I received this book as an eARC from the authors, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
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Great book on a serious subject, but in an easy for children to understand format.  While reading this book, my son and I discussed his worry, which was serious, but because of the book was discussed and his pain was eased.  I love children's books that are not only fun for the children to read, but touch real life emotions or problems children's face and helps them find ways to fix them.  This book is one of those and will be pulled out when either of my sons have a worry, showing them worrying is not a fun way to do things and cannot change anything.  Great book to help children facing something!
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An interesting book using humor to help kids problem solve through their worries.
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I loved this. Anxiety based mental health issues are extremely prevalent today - and children are no exception. I understand that as they learn and grow, anxiety is common when aspects of their lives and routines change. This charmingly written book explores what constitutes a worry, and how one might live with one. 

I also think this novel is an exercise in compassion and sympathy for an adult reader. The worries explained in the tale are fantastical; having only one tea bag but a herd of 30 elephants for example. However, the symptoms are realistic and worthy of sympathy. I think an adult reader might look at a temper tantrum slightly differently after reading this with a young one. 

The only negative aspect of this read for me, was the overabundance of solutions provided. There were dozens of suggested solutions to stop a worry from worrying you. In one way, this reflects that everyone must address a worry differently. However, I suspect is more likely to be overwhelming for a young reader. 

Ultimately, this was an incredibly clever look at anxiety geared towards young reader and I applaud the intent. I will likely purchase this for the young readers in my life.
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Is A Worry Worrying You? is a perfect book for children who often, or even sometimes, feel anxious, usually regarding irrational fears. I really like how the author uses a monster as a symbol for an intrusive worry as well as the animal characters, who are appealing to children.
As an adult who experienced severe anxiety as a child, this story would have been an excellent resource for me. I had irrational fears and didn't understand I could release my worries through use of the suggestions featured in the book.
My favorite aspect of Is A Worry Worrying You? is the author's inclusion of strategies aimed at anxious children to combat their fears. As a social worker, this book is definitely a resource I will use in my practice!
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Wonderful book that I will use in my classroom to encourage conversation.  Is a Worry Worrying You is well written and an important contribution to children's literature
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