Everybody Worries

The author/illustrator of this picture book is a renowned artist in the ‘Doodle art’ style, and this story with its remarkable little characters doing remarkable things is a perfect representation of that art form. Children will love it, and the fact that the children who will enjoy it most are probably the more profound worriers amongst us, means that it will fulfil its purpose admirably. Rhyming couplets explain that even brave and ‘cool’ people worry about things large and small, tough and smart people can be afraid of the dark, and that ‘Worries aren’t always the same for everyone.’ Facing changes such as moving house, can be terribly worrying and ‘make you feel sickly’ but telling someone about it can help, as can drawing pictures, or: ‘Take three breaths, slow and deep. Exercise and eat well, and get enough sleep.’ So…good advice, colourful little comic characters, and simple ideas about what worrying really is and how people suffer from it, will be positive reasons for talking about one’s worries and learning that they won’t go on forever. The pictures, very funny and clever in themselves, help make a serious subject approachable and helpful.