This precious book, written by Ruth Goring and illustrated by Pamela C. Rice, is an excellent resource for any parents looking for ways to help their child cope with their worries and fears.

Full disclosure: I expected lots of eye-rolls with this one. I’ve read several children’s books on worry recently that I was excited about that ended up being so condescending to the young reader specifically and also really tone-deaf to the genuine struggle of worry and anxiety in general. This book was a refreshing, blessed departure from what I have seen recently. The text addresses these challenges in a gentle, yet substantive way.

I absolutely love that this book incorporates the spiritual practice of guided imagery. If you’re wondering what exactly guided imagery is, Goring says, “Guided imagery is a spiritual discipline—a form of prayer that allows us to encounter God through an open-ended imaginative narrative.” Essentially, it’s a prompt of sorts—questions to ask your child that help them identify their fears, such as the one in this book: “What are the worries you would cram into a backpack?” or “Where is a favorite place you would like to imagine walking and talking with Jesus?”

I think this book will be really helpful for my own intense children, particularly Jonah, who has deep feelings but doesn’t always articulate them as openly and freely as his sibling.

I’m so thankful to @ivpkids for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review. I know it will be a valuable resource in my family and in others.

What are some of your favorite books that address the concept of worry or anxiety with children?

This picture book has beautiful illustrations, and the text is easy to understand, even though the book is a little bit wordy. The story involves Isaiah struggling to go to bed because of all of the worries weighing on him. His mother encourages him to visualize himself in a forest, imagining his worries as a heavy pack that he is carrying. She helps him imagine an encounter with Jesus, and helps him calm down and feel ready to go to sleep.

I appreciate the book's message about leaving our worries with Jesus instead of feeling like we have to carry them all the time, and the text is sympathetic and gentle, honoring the very hard issues that many children face and the ways that sensitive children internalize difficult situations. However, even though I think this is very sweet, I am not sure how well it works as a storybook, especially since the abrupt ending promises redemption through Isaiah's worries blossoming into fruit trees. This is a nice thought, but it makes for a very abstract ending, especially since nothing about Isaiah's worrisome life situations have changed yet.

The author's note at the end explains the concept of guided meditation, but people who are expecting a more traditional story format may feel uncertain how to apply this to their children's worries or situation, especially if they feel uncomfortable with encouraging their children to imagine encounters with Jesus. This book's portrayal of Jesus is consistent with what we know and can infer from Scripture, but encouraging a child to imagine Jesus in this way could make him seem like a therapeutic imaginary friend rather than a historical person or member of the Trinity.

If it is introduced well and handled appropriately, this kind of guided meditation could be very helpful and healing for kids, but I think that this book is best as a counseling tool, not a bedtime story. Other people may disagree and perceive this book differently, but I think that its best use will occur in a relationship with either a parent who is well-trained in guided meditation or a counselor or therapist, so that the adult can protect against possible pitfalls and help draw out the more abstract and implicit elements of the story.

Isaiah and the Worry Pack by Ruth Goring is a wonderful illustration of teaching children (and adults) how to give there worry and concerns to Jesus. It breaks it down in a way kids can understand—in a sense of giving our worries to Jesus. I did have trouble understanding the trees at the end though. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. (My review is also on Goodreads.)

This is a lovely story with gentle guided imagery that supports children in sharing and processing their worries. As a Mum of two quite anxious children, I was really excited to read it, however I somehow missed in the description that it is a very Christian story. About halfway through the book it wasn't really relevant for my children anymore because of the religious focus.

That being said, if you are a Christian parent this will be a great addition to your bookshelf! I thought the illustrations were really calming too.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Super cute book and one that I would totally show my nephew. I really loved the illustrations and the story line as well.

Worry can be a big part of life. It is easier said than done to say not to worry God's got this. There is truth is that phrase but God created us to reason with him. Isaiah does worry about many things and it may be the same things your child worries about. Maybe even adults. Isaiah's mother thru story helps Isaiah put his worry into perspective. She also encourages him to share his feelings which gives you an opportunity to have your child share as well. There is a peace when we can walk thru our worries and not feel alone.

A great resource for parent and child to grow in faith together.

A special thank you to Intervarsity Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Isaiah and the Worry Pack is a children’s book that encourages you to explore your relationship with Jesus. My favorite part of this book is the way it tackles the main theme of anxiety and its illustrations. Isiah is an introspective little boy who understands and feels the crushing weight of the hardships that face him and his family. Sometimes it is easy to forget how much children truly see and feel what is going on around them. This book does a great job of explaining to kids how prayer can make them feel like they are slowly overcoming their anxieties, and does so in a calming and healthy way. This book also does a great job of explaining what it is like to imagine relying on a higher figure in your life. As an adult, it made me pause for a moment and picture what my religious life is like, which is the aim of this book. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and colorful; children will love the imagery of the life within the woods that Isiah imagines. These images will also help children to imagine their own fantasy of nature that could potentially connect them to their own form of prayer.

I like this book. Ruth Goring’s writing is easy to understand, especially for children. Her writing flows nicely and she does a good job of unpacking hard situations kids may be going through at home. The story has a great plot and the pacing is not too fast or too slow. However, I did feel this story ended abruptly. To me, it felt like I was just getting into the feeling of being in the woods and out of nowhere, the story just ended. I do wish this story was a little longer. I myself am not familiar with guided imagery and was not familiar with the term until I read the notes at the end of the book. I wonder if my personal disconnect from this method of prayer is what is making me feel like the story could have kept going longer. However, I feel it is a beautiful way, especially for kids, to connect with Jesus .I think this story gives a great introduction to Jesus as a whole. It is certainly unique and teaches kids how to savor the love they have for themselves and others. I suggest this book to any parent or child who is wanting to learn more about Jesus as a person and the concept of prayer. This book teaches you that prayer allows you to conquer your anxieties in a compassionate and spiritual way.

I did not realise that this book is about guided imagery. It seems a bit of a new age technique to me but I will find out more.

The illustrations are lovely though! I liked the cut out style. It’s a refreshing difference.

Young Isaiah is no stranger to anxiety. When he feels a rough night of insomnia coming on, his mother offers loving, caring, and nonjudgmental support to help him identify and process his worries. She encourages him through a guided imagery exercise where he imagines packing up his anxieties and then sharing them with Jesus.

This is a wonderful amalgamation of evidence-based anxiety coping strategies and spiritually-informed guidance. Isaiah is beautifully cared for, both through his family and his faith, to find peace and comfort. This would be a wonderful group read for Sunday School for elementary and middle school and would be a great addition to a youth minister and/or Director of Christian Education's bookshelf as well.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!