Children's Literature

Definitely in the bibliotherapy category, the authors tell kids that everyone has worries and that there are mechanisms to cope with them. The easiest is to take action, which in most cases makes you forget about the worry or will solve the problem that is causing the worry. The illustrations are fairly dark with kids looking unhappy or grumpy and often featuring a big blue monster. It might have been nice to brighten the pallet for pages where the worry has been chased away to really emphasize the message. I personally found the art unappealing. The closing pages show worry moving on and the text states, "You can get rid of a worry any time you want. It just takes a little patience." Perhaps, but sometimes it takes more than patience. 2005, Tanglewood Press, Ages 5 to 8.
—Marilyn Courtot