ANXIOUS

A child processes a difficult emotion.

A young girl sometimes feels odd. The world becomes overwhelming, and it’s hard for her to find her balance. Everything seems dark and scary, and the girl doesn’t want to dance or meet new friends; she just wants to scream. But she’s learned in these moments to ask for help and breathe slowly and deeply. When she does, she finds a sense of balance once more. The book has a gardening and nature theme, which creates a focused, stimulating visual landscape. The color literally drains out of the protagonist when a bout of anxiety overtakes her, and it returns when she feels calm and centered. The protagonist appears to wear moth or butterfly wings—a symbol of growth, perhaps?—and in one scene, a group of children wear other animal get-ups (mouse ears, a snail’s shell). The large flowers of the garden can be menacing when depicted in grayscale or luxurious in their vivid hues—symbolic of the child’s emotional state. This tale offers encouragement to readers experiencing similar emotions; backmatter includes suggestions, strategies, and resources for parents and caregivers. On the pages that are sapped of color, the child has paper-white skin, but later in the book, she’s depicted as brown-skinned; other children are diverse.

Beautiful and reassuring.