I’m Worried (Your Feelings)

The little girl in this book describes how she feels when she is worried (“Like a dog that can’t find a bone”, “like a balloon that’s losing its air”, “like a bird that knows there’s a cat somewhere”). She talks about situations which make her feel anxious: when other children exclude her from their games, before the school play begins and when she has to stay overnight in hospital. In all these situations, her fears turn out to be much more menacing than the reality: she finds other children to play with, she enjoys the play once she is on stage and her mum is with her in the hospital. She talks about adult reactions to her worries, who tell her to “be brave” or “snap out of it”. She acknowledges that adults worry about things too, and she does things that make others worry about her (such as climbing on high walls and not taking enough care when crossing the road). She mentions that distracting herself with her favourite activities and talking about her feelings with others help her to stop feeling so anxious, and often worries can “disappear like bubbles that float on the breeze”.