Picture Books for Anxious Children – Patricia Forde
Childhood is not all it’s cracked up to be. As adults, we like to romanticise these ‘best days of your life’, but sometimes we fail to acknowledge that childhood is often a place beset by fear and anxiety. It’s true that you don’t have to worry about the mortgage or your cranky boss, but you often have little power, or autonomy, and not a lot of experience of the rules that govern the world you live in. You are totally dependent on the adults around you to provide food, shelter, love and security.
How can picture books help? Picture books are designed for the very young, from babies to early school goers. There is an accepted ritual around reading picture books. Often the child sits on the adult’s lap, being held close or tucked up in bed at dusk with an adult reading the story as the day ebbs away. Many of us associate our favourite picture books with comfort and security. And that’s before you even consider the content!
We all like to see ourselves in books and films. We like to see that others wrestle with problems and difficulties and survive. If they can survive, so can we! Sometimes, the protagonist will give us behaviours that we can model: determination, courage, forgiveness.
Children are no different. They want to see themselves and their world reflected back at them and they want it to be a comforting and reassuring experience.
When I wrote Imagine, I thought long and hard about childhood anxiety and methods of dealing with it. Two things struck me. The first was that books are important in opening conversations with children. I remember when my own children would come from their preschool, and I’d ask them how the morning went. Fine, was the usual answer. It was only later, sharing a book that details would emerge. A character feeling lonely might remind them that they missed me when I dropped them off that morning, or that they were afraid that I wouldn’t come back. This gave me an opening to comfort and reassure them.
We all know that talking about your anxiety can help to put things into perspective. Books are a great springboard for conversation. As a teacher of primary school children, I knew that there was another parallel world going on at school. This was the world of bullies and gangs, rifts and jealousies that adults weren’t privy to. Books were a great way to invite discussion about these topics without getting too personal. We were talking about the protagonist in the book who was afraid of the big boys in the yard. We weren’t talking about us!
Children are further away from the influence of adults now than ever before. Their phones can keep them tethered to their peer group from dawn to dusk. Their adults are often away for the greater part of the day. But books can bring back the voice of the adult through the writer. Hopefully, it’s a kind voice that through story can pass on values and some wisdom. I’d like to think so.
And finally, books can be a welcome distraction. Something to take their minds away from the monster under the bed and the ghost that howls outside the window.
In Imagine, I hope I can make children laugh and open a door for them to chat about the things that worry them. One thing I am sure of – whatever the trouble is – there’s a book for that. Here are a few of my favourites.
Jack’s Worry by Sam Zuppardi
Poor Jack is being stalked by a worry. He’s playing at the school concert and suddenly he has massive doubts. The more he tries to ignore the worry the bigger it gets. Finally, a chat with Mum sorts things out.
A charming and gently reassuring book for people nervous about doing something for the first time.
Ruby Finds A Worry by Tom Percival
Ruby is a cheerful, happy little girl until she finds a worry. At first, the worry is small and manageable but soon, it starts to grow and take all the colour out of Ruby’s life. Ruby befriends a young boy and discovers that he, and indeed everyone, has worries. Not only that, she finds out how to banish them.
A sweet and sensitive story with a terrific heroine.
It’s A No-Money Day by Kate Milner
This is a much needed book about children living in poverty. It is also heart- breaking. The little girl in the book is happy and well loved. Her mum works hard and minds every penny but today is a day when there is no money. The child enjoys doing all the free things that mum presents her with – going to the library, dressing up, but to mum’s humiliation they are forced to go to the food bank for something to eat. On the way home they dream of a different life with pets and washing machines and warm clothes.
A beautiful, sensitive book that will encourage discussion and empathy.
It has been a strange year and a half for writers and for children. Many children that I met in schools and at home whilst doing Zoom events were very aware of the pandemic and the danger their grandparents were in. I do hope that Imagine can not only make children laugh, but also bring them some comfort and reassurance until these strange days are nothing but a distant memory.
- Imagine! by Patricia Forde is available now from Little Island Books. RRP. £7.99 (A copy of the book was provided as part of this promotional blog tour)
