Review | Is a Worry Worrying You?

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In today’s contemporary society, worrying seems to happen at a younger and younger age every year. The Book Is a Worry Worrying You? by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz explain to children what a worry actually is, and try to teach them how to cope, suggestion ways to deal with their fears. 

 “A worry is a thought that stops your from having fun, from feeling good, from being happy. Don’t bother looking for a worry because you’ll never find it. It is invisible. But it seems very real.” 

Great definition of what a worry is; well explain to children. But that explanation and the illustrations are pretty much the only things I liked about this book. As I read on, I couldn’t stop thinking “how is that ever going to be helpful to a kid prone to anxiety?” 

“Suppose a monster moves in under your bed, and you’re afraid if you go to sleep it will do something horrible, so you stay awake all night. Now that’s a worry. But you can get rid of that worry by singing the monster lullabies until you both fall asleep. ” 

Isn’t that recognizing that monsters are real and that there is a reason to actually be scared? As an adult, I can understand that a monkey friend can be in fact only a silly friend, but as I was reading, thoughts kept popping into my head, and I was wondering if a child would realize that it’s impossible to have a brown bear as a teacher. Would it create even more anxiety in fragile children? 

I suppose it’s very unlikely to be the case, and of course parents would tell their kids what the author actually meant, but I couldn’t help thinking about it. The story is meant to be educational in a silly and amusing way, creating scatty situations, but… 

For a kid of reading age, this book would probably be more amusing than educational. The illustrations are gorgeous; there isn’t a doubt about that. A young child would have a lot of fun looking at the pictures and making up their own stories! 

 I’m still unsure if I would recommend this book or not… I would say get it from the library instead of buying it maybe? 

But if you do want to buy it, you can do so HERE or HERE! :) 

 *This book was sent to me by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review (book ISBN: 0974930326)