This well-illustrated picture book depicts a young boy's experiences with OCD. The text and the pictures work well together, showing the distress that he feels over mess and disorder and the temporary comfort that he derives from a ritual concerning his crayons. The story's simplistic conclusion cannot accurately reflect what it takes to overcome OCD, but I like the message about the importance of a creative outlet, and this story does as much as a picture book can.

However, it is important for parents and educators to know that this book never specifically names Oswald's affliction. It is clear to the well-informed reader that he is suffering from OCD, but because this disorder is often misunderstood, I think it would have been helpful if the author had included an additional note with more information or resource ideas for children and parents who are dealing with something similar.

This was the cutest book. It woukd be wonderful for a read aloud in the classroom. I would recommend it to any of my teacher friends. Oswald gets nervous several times a day. While at home with his brotherz when he steps into one of the rooms of the house and other times. He uses his tristy crayons to calm and in some way settle down a little..he twists and puts the crayons in a certain order. By the end of the book, he realizes that he can just color with the crayons and not have to put them in an order.