MY THOUGHTS HAVE WINGS

A child battles nighttime anxieties.

The young narrator is beleaguered at bedtime by bad thoughts and “what ifs”—spiders, potential nightmares, schoolyard struggles. The nameless child’s “mind feels busy and loud!” Luckily, Mom is there to advise: “Thoughts are like birds,” she says. “Some fly away quickly…but others build nests in our heads….We need to make sure there’s room for the happy thoughts to build their nests.” Smith offers a series of joyful thoughts, such as enjoying ice cream at the beach, being greeted after school by a loving pup, munching on banana bread, and flying kites with friends. Hatch provides soft backdrops of multicolored pastel birds fluttering in the narrator’s dark bedroom that brighten into more grounded spreads depicting the good thoughts. The closing spread stands out, with the child carried aloft by cuddly blue birds to sleep, “smiling in the dark.” The cozy ideas will comfort nervous young readers and make a strong conversation starter for less-than-sure caretakers. “Everyone worries,” and barring a late-night banana bread craving, the soothing suggestions will surely bring somnolence on soft feathers. Both Mom and the child are light-skinned; background characters are racially diverse.

Fortitude against fluttering fears.