Customer Reviews

Is a Worry Worrying You?

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a first grade teacher who had the opportunity to read this book to my class. All of the children enjoyed the story. They loved looking for the Worry. Most importantly, this book generated a lot of discussion about things that worried them and how they could make their worries go away or find alternative solutions.
I highly recommend this book for children of all ages.

Is A Worry Worrying You? is a picturebook for children that combines whimsical artwork with honest and practical advice for dealing with worries - from everyday worries about bullies and the first day of school to not-so-common worries such as a rhino wandering the neighborhood! A "Worry" is depicted as a big blue monster with no manners, that stays like an uninvited guest - but only as long as one lets it. Is A Worry Worrying You? shows young people means of dealing with worries, from confronting it directly or working on whatever is worrying one, to focusing on happy thoughts, engaging in activities like playing with cards or baking a cake, or talking with friends. Highly recommended.

Adults worry about many things and sometimes even desire to return to what they believe is the carefree childhood years. But life is stressful, even for children. They worry about things just like adults do. Some of their worries are about monsters under the bed, a school bully or maybe even starting school. Other worries may be little worries, but worries nonetheless.

Is a Worry Worrying You? addresses the worries of children and helps the child deal with them in a way that they can identify with. If a herd of elephants are thirsty when they arrive for tea, just give them lemonade instead. It looks at worry and solving problems creatively.

Is a Worry Worrying You? is a book best read by children with an adult. The adult can helpfully explain any sticking points. The illustrations are quirky and show what I like to call the "worry monster" on the pages. The drawings evoke a feeling of worry without being scary. I believe my little children will enjoy them.

Armchair Interviews says: Is a Worry Worrying You? is a wonderful way to spend time with the special child in your life and allay the worries they all have at one time or another.

My daughter is six with anxiety issues. This book makes it easy for her to feel comfortable with the topic of worry. It's light and easy and fun for kids. We have pets who my daughter is very close with, and in the book, the little girl's dog sticks it's tongue out at the beast, and her cat makes a great face at it. These illustrations cracked my daughter up, and she asks to have the book read and spends time with it on her own.

As a school counselor, I love using books that have humor in them to deal with universal issues. The author does a great job of balancing this humor while defining 'worry' for children. Is A Worry Worrying You gets kids to open up. More than ever before, children are WAY overstressed. As I read the story, I will here from my audience:

I'm worried my parents are getting divorced.
I'm worried my brother is going to beat me up.
I'm worried about my new stepsister.

The book does offer strategies but it also hints at not letting these worries through the door in the first place. Love that.

The authors ask, "Suppose, just suppose, one hundred elephants come to tea and you discover you don't have any tea bags. Uh, oh. What will you do with a herd of thirsty elephants? Now that's a worry!" That sure is a worry. What on earth do you do for thirsty elephants when there is no large pond in sight? This and other questions are pondered in this delightful book that is designed to help children cope with worrying.

Many of the scenarios are deliberately silly. What if your teacher is a brown bear and you forget your homework; a bald eagle turns your hair into a nest; a gorilla takes your skateboard. Silly and funny, yet offers advice along the way. Kids will love these scenarios and are sure to some up with their own, along with a solution. Along the way they learn creative ways of dealing with problems.

Then there are the snippets of advice that adults can take to heart along with their children. For instance, "most of the time, something you worry about never happens." Run a web search and there will be figures stating from 40 to 90 percent of the things we worry about never happen. That may be a hard thing to remember or believe while we are worrying, yet if this is true, we are worrying way too much. The authors also state that "a worry is as big or as small as you let it be," and "will stay as long as you let it." Pretty sound advice for kids of every age.

For a relatively short picture book (32 pages), it packs quite a lot of information, advice and fun. The illustrations are just a tad darker in tone than most other picture books, but then worrying is a rather dark endeavor. The pictures tell the story well. It took two talented authors to write this book. Given the weighty subject and the imaginative way it is handled, it is not hard to understand why. They have done a wonderful job of explaining a difficult subject that now even a child can put into perspective. Kids learn t worry is mostly a subjective emotion they can control with patience and perseverance. The use of imagination as a problem-solving device is wonderfully illustrated throughout the book. Plus, if an eagle ever lands on their head and makes a nest out of their hair - your child will know exactly what to do about that pesky eagle without worrying for a moment.

note:received from netgalley, courtesy of the publlisher

Is a Worry Worrying You?

Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz


Ms. Wolff and Ms. Savitz have written a beautiful book that speaks to children in their own language. Instead of talking at children from the adult's perspective, they enter the childrens' world so they can walk with children and explore their fears and anxieties with them. Rather than being condescending, their lighthearted approach shows a deep respect for childhood and its fears as well as a sound awareness of the inner resources residing in children. Just as fairy tales help children externalize their fears (Bettleheim, B; THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT), IS A WORRY WORRYING YOU? enables children to investigate their fears and tells each child he/she is not alone in having these fears. Finally, the fanciful suggestions entertain and amuse children while the very valid and practical solutions empower children to creatively resolve their concerns. As a former school psychologist in an elementary school, I know that when adults minimize childhood fears, they do not go away but can linger and harm. When I read this with children in my school they responded to it immediately and wanted to hear it again and again.


Claire Laufman

I found this book to be very helpful re many of the common worries kids are facing these days, and it uses humor in a very effective way. I liked how it actually gives kids helpful tools to deal w/their concerns. Often a book like this will only touch on a few problems, and then they mysteriously disappear by the end of the book (and they lived happily ever after...). Kids need to know how to make this happen, and parents can use this book to discuss what they can do themselves. I'd highly recommend this book to parents and grandparents of young kids.

This was a real cute book with a fun way to teach kids about how to deal with their worries. My Daughter really enjoys it and the pictures are really cool.

The clever text and delightful illustrations of Is a Worry Worrying You? speak directly and honestly to the audience. They let the reader know that there are ways to deal with worrys,
that there are solutions to problems and that we are not alone, all the while keeping it light and enjoyable.
I read this book to my fifth grade students and they truly enjoyed it. I also shared it with our guidance counselor.