The Worry (less) Book: a gorgeous look at anxiety and worries – perfect for the classroom!

“Start worrying less and enjoying life with this book for people who worry or struggle with anxiety (so yeah — everyone)! We all have a mixture of fun and not-so fun feelings. And everyone feels worried sometimes. But too much anxiety can get in the way. So this book is here to help you identify your anxiety, understand why it’s just part of that thing we call life, and equip you with all the tools you need to find calm again.”

Last year, the brilliant Rachel Brian released a book for children all about consent (one of my Y6s is currently reading it and she’s really enjoying it!) and this year we are blessed with another book from the very same author all about worrying, anxiety and all things related!

Worry (Less) is a gorgeous, fun and practical book which aims to empower children and families on ways to deal with anxiety. It’s done in such a brilliant way – it doesn’t feel preachy, or over simplified.

In the book, the characters learn what anxiety is, how it can affect the body and mind, and how to manage or even overcome it. You get to “meet” Anxiety (a lumpy, grey blob) and the ways in which anxiety can help (to keep you safe), but also what happens when Anxiety starts to make you feel uncomfortable and gets a bit too much. Of course, any book dealing with emotions also shows you the Brain – we can’t forget our brains in all of this!

There’s a brilliant mix of characters in this – there’s representation of a variety of skin colours and there’s a child in a wheelchair. We all know how important it is for children to see themselves represented in books and seeing that in this book gave me such delight!

This book really made me think of Ruby’s Worry (the gorgeous picture book by Tom Percival) and I think these could go hand in hand for talking to children about anxiety and worries – obviously, this is aimed at a slightly older age range than Ruby’s Worry, but schools that have Ruby’s Worry might also be interested in this book too!

This book ticks so many boxes for me! It does the looking good things (it’s brilliantly illustrated); it does the preaching good things (it’s about a subject matter that matters a lot and it super important); and it does the brain good things (it’s entertaining, uplifting, educational). This would be a brilliant addition to a classroom, a home or a library. We need our children to learn about these matters and to know what to do about them – there’s gorgeous advice throughout and there’s practical tips given to help in times of need.

A massive thank you to the publishers for inviting me on the blog tour – this book is going straight in my class library now that I’ve had time to read (and be educated!!). As someone who definitely worries a lot, this was a brilliant read!

Why not check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour?

S x