Member Reviews

I'm so glad I came across this book on NetGalley! This is great book for small children to begin to understand the abstract feeling of being anxious. The book provides solutions to each worry in a kid-friendly way.

Was this review helpful?

This is a delightful and helpful children's book. The illustrations are engaging, and the text is simultaneously realistic and fantastical, catching the attention of children (and elders) and bringing across the point without belaboring it. Some of the suggested situations are realistic (a loud uncle), others are more imagined (involving animals), but every one is a real-life potential for anxiety, and the author soothes the reader through each of these situations. I found it very helpful and will delight to share it with my grandchildren.

Was this review helpful?

I appreciate what this book is trying to do.
Anxiety is something that my daughter struggles with, and I am keeping my eyes open for some materials to help her cope. I do like that this book has some recommendations for how to overcome worry, however I will most definitely NOT be reading it to her.
The illustrations are way too creepy for a children’s book. I’m a big fan of Tim Burton, and these pictures STILL creeped me out. I also did not like the style of the writing. It would be more beneficial to purpose real life worry-inducing situations to children rather than some of the absurd situations in this book. The only one I felt like my kids could relate to was the uncle whose voice was as loud as a lion.
But as I said before, I appreciate the intention behind this book.

*i was provided an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I read this with my 8 and 11 year old and they both loved it. The illustrations are fantastic and they liked finding the "worry" on each page. The examples of worrisome situations were silly but also things that kids could relate to. We also liked the suggestions for how to take away the power that worry can have over you. Recommended for children grades K-5.

Was this review helpful?

What a cute book. I have three boys, the middle of which suffers from anxiety and I had hoped that reading this book might help him. The illustrations are amazing! However, I felt that the story itself was good and well-written but geared towards older children. Eight or older.

Was this review helpful?

Many children have worries. Often they don't know the term "worry" but they know they have things they think about that bother them. This book (aimed at 4-7 year olds) gives a name to that feeling - worry. It goes through some scenarios (some funny and unrealistic like a rhino in the street and some real like the first day of school) and helps provide solutions.
Is A Worry Worrying You? normalizes worrying. While some of the solutions and scenarios are outlandish, the message is clear: you can find a solution. The end of the book offers some real advice about putting worries in a box, out of your head. It talks about facing your worry and allowing others to help.
Everyone worries. This book explains to kids that it is normal and provides some strategies on how to deal with worries.

Was this review helpful?

I read this book with my 7 year old daughter. It is a great book to open discussions about what is worrying your child. It was also written in a way that she could read it herself.

Was this review helpful?

For so many children worry is a big issue but hard to talk about or name. Some children do not know what they are feeling is worry or how to deal with it. This is a great story for all children to help combat and overcome worry.

Was this review helpful?

As the mother of a child that was always very worried, I found the suggestions on dealing with your worries to be sensible and charming and the illustrations are delightful!

Was this review helpful?

This book gives me the creeps. While teaching children coping skills for their worries is laudable, it's also probably a good idea not to introduce new worries into the minds of highly creative kids.

One of the main problems with this book is that it presents worries that are impossible. Like a herd of elephants coming to tea, and you're out of teabags. The solution? Serve them lemonade. The problem? That's never going to happen! In addition, some of the worries might cause kids to worry about things that they might not have considered before. Like a monster taking up residence under their bed. (I was the type of kid who, had I believed in monsters, probably would've started to worry about something like that simply because I'd read about it in a book.)

The illustrations are a mixture of interesting and downright scary. Worry is represented throughout the book by a creepy blue monster. I had a bit of fun trying to pick it out on each page. But it's also kind of ominous, and the way it's lurking about makes me feel really uncomfortable. Illustrations are really important for me in a picture book. They help set the tone, and often provoke an emotional reaction. Unfortunately, in this book, my emotional reaction was one of revulsion; once I'd found the monster, I just wanted to stop looking at the dark, unappealing pictures.

The one thing this book has going for it are the suggestions on how to banish your worries. They might work for some kids, which is a plus. However, overall, I think a much better book about worrying is Worry Says What? by Allison Edwards. While it doesn't go into dealing with worries as much, the illustrations are much nicer to look at and clearly show the worry getting smaller and smaller (and much more manageable). I would recommend that book over this one since it doesn't inadvertently introduce new worries (and the worries presented there are much more realistic).

Was this review helpful?

Is A Worry Worrying You?
By Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz
I can’t even begin to say how much I like this book. I struggle with anxiety and depression and it all started back in my youth. The older I got the more I understood what I was feeling but it was so hard to put my “worries” into words as a child. This book not only defines and addresses different ways that worries enter our thoughts but gives creative advice on how to ease our worries away. I think the best part of reading this book is the validation that your feelings are real and can be helped. As an adult you can feel like you are going crazy when you have mental health problems but as a child, I imagine it is so much worse. Everyone else is living care free and you are stuck with overwhelming thoughts that is crushing you. I really enjoyed this perspective and imaginative book and would recommend it to others.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion which I share here.

Was this review helpful?

What a delightful book geared to younger children. I love how the author gives a worry and then a solution to the worry. The illustrations were perfect to the story line.

Was this review helpful?

My son absolutely loved this book. He got great delight out of finding the worry monster on each page and totally empathised with the description of the worries. Hopefully he takes on the advice as well, but this is the kind of book he'll happily reread until he really gets it.

Charming pictures and easy to read text make this a great book for any little worrier.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Was this review helpful?

Great concept, well done. An enlightening children's picture book now that subjects like anxiety are on the public radar. It looks at the issue of worries and anxiety without catastrophizing.

I enjoyed Marie LeTourneau's illustrations a lot - they are a great blend of menacing, gothic and humour in just the right colour palette. I will keep an eye out for other work by that illustrator.

I read #IsaWorryWorryingYou? via #NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Tanglewood and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Is a Worry Worrying You? I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Many children worry or are anxious about both the known and the unknown in their lives. This book is designed to help remind children that a worry does not have a physical existence and can be dealt with in a way that helps to lower their anxiety.

The only issue that I had with the book was regarding the illustrations, which are entirely too dark for a younger audience. Is a Worry Worrying You? is designed to help alleviate anxiety, but the artwork is quite scary at times. I understand that the illustrator was trying to convey the story in picture form, but she seems to have forgotten that the target audience for the book is very young. It would have been better if the worry pages were balanced out with brighter, happier pages when the author proposes a solution. Despite this small issue, the author did a good job of writing in a way that young children will understand. I would recommend Is a Worry Worrying You? for both parents with small children and educators.

Was this review helpful?

As someone with an anxiety disorder that was not diagnosed until the age of 30 I really wanted this book to be a good message to children. Thankfully it is!
Is a Worry Worrying You starts off by discussing what a worry is, because let's face it kids don't really know. It's hard to understand how a 'thing' can be a 'thing' without being a 'thing' that you can touch. Ferida Wolff does a wonderful job of talking about how a worry can feel heavy and huge and make you sad; even though you cannot see it or might have trouble describing it.
We then move into what can a worry be. From elephants showing up uninvited to monsters under the bed to annoying relatives there is a wide gamut of worries described and in each instance the worry is resolved somehow. Most of the worries are really simple, but certainly something a child might be worrying about.
Towards the end it discusses how to get rid of a worry that can't be solved immediately. And this is where the real magic of this story is, as it talks about facing that worry head-on. Talking to someone about it, and seeing if the worry even makes sense! These are things that I feel would have been invaluable to child me. But as with all children's books the final page and written line are what everything is all about! I won't spoil it for you, except to say that it's perfect.

The illustrations in this book are a little bit darker and I really loved them. You can also play a game with your little one to find the monster on every page. He's there, lurking like a worry might, sometimes easy to see and other times harder to see. I would happily read this story to a small child night after night. I can even see gifting it to someone older or about to embark on a trip or new stage of life. It serves as a reminder that worries are only worries if you let them be worries. Because, after all, you can always sing the monster to sleep.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Was this review helpful?

It is a book about worries, from the most simple one to the most extravagant one, and simple steps to get rid of them. The illustrations were quite dark/creepy to me and made me feel tensed as I was reading it. I would have preferred an art style that makes me feel relaxed and calm instead.

Was this review helpful?

This was a cute little book to help kids with common fears. It gives humorous examples of how our fears can sometimes be unreasonable, but scary none the less. It also gives coping techniques but disguises them so that the child dosen't feel they are being taught, just entertained.

Was this review helpful?

This was a well written ok about the feelings of worry. It gives great examples of what worry is and how to overcome it. I would recommend this book to anyone from "able to read" to adult.

Was this review helpful?

A really great book about our everyday worries andvhow to handle them. Just loved it and the pictures are amazing. Goid job.
Thank you Netgalley and the author for this lovely copy.

Was this review helpful?