Children's books: "An Unexpected Thing", "Is a Worry Worrying You?", and "My Brilliant, Resilient Mind"

An Unexpected Thing by Ashling Lindsay (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Is a Worry Worrying You? by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, illustrated by Marie LeTourneau (Tanglewood Publishing)
My Brilliant, Resilient Mind by Christina Furnival, illustrated by Katie Dwyer (PESI Publishing)

Diving into the world of children's books! This time, it's all about that old monster—worry.

In An Unexpected Thing, Fred's life is ruled by fear—but his (new?) friend Coco helps him see that sometimes uncertainty can be wonderful.

This makes for a lovely, compassionate look at anxiety in kids. I have a friend (diagnosed with anxiety from a very young age) who might have benefitted from this sort of book as a child, and I expect many adults will also know children for whom this would be helpful—children who can't quite bring themselves to fling themselves at the world with abandon.

The illustrations are rather rougher than the cover image suggests, but the use of color is really nice, especially as the book transitions from Fred's view of the world to Coco's.

In Is a Worry Worrying You?, worry is an uninvited monster that has crashed your picnic, tripped your best friend, and taken up residence under your bed. Do you ever have a worry that won't go away? What is a worry, anyway?

But not to worry! No swords are needed to battle this monster. Instead, the book subtly walks young kids through redirecting their thoughts and finding alternative solutions. The illustrations are dark but playful, and they remind me a bit of Where the Wild Things Are—not only a book for worried kids but one for monster-loving kids!

All in all, an excellent addition to any collection of books aimed at helping kids understand and work with their emotions.

Designed as a mix of playful rhymes and useful tools, My Brilliant, Resilient Mind walks kids (and their parents) through negative feelings—and some ways to cope with them and hopefully turn them around.

The rhymes vary somewhat in scheme, usually ABCB or AABB. They're a bit slant in places, but I'm guessing that kids won't notice, and the rhyming would be a good way to help some of the strategies (variations on reframing and positive thinking, mostly) stick in one's brain. The art is simple but effective, something like a mix of colored pencil and watercolor. My favorite thing, though, is a simple little choice: the twins are a boy and a girl, and it's the girl who loves soccer and the boy who loves art. It's inconsequential to the story, but it's so nice to see that tiny choice to buck stereotype and subtly reinforce that interests aren't gendered.

Not sure this is one kids are likely to return to over and over again for the story, but it's a useful addition to a bag of tricks for teaching kids about managing emotions.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing review copies through NetGalley.