All Birds Have Anxiety

Building on All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome and All Dogs Have ADHD, Hoopmann uses stock photographs of dozens of birds to convey aspects of life with anxiety. The project relies heavily on anthropomorphism--namely reading worry, frustration, and fear in the faces and body language of eagles, penguins, and other birds, none of which are identified. "When stress builds up, anything can set off anxiety, such as: a change of plan, something new, a comment, a thought. Stuff," writes Hoopmann beside an image of a horned owl, its wide, orange eyes meant to signal extreme alarm. The text and images are well paired, but 50 pages of stressed-and-depressed-looking birds and their "symptoms" ("Wide-awake thoughts churn in our minds") is a lot to wade through before Hoopmann begins to suggest ways to combat anxiety in the final third of the book. Ages 4-up. (Mar.)

Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 3--Hoopmann explores the complicated subject of anxiety, including many of its causes and symptoms and different coping mechanisms, in this compact, accessible title. The book is composed of colorful and often humorous photographs of various types of birds, accompanied by simple sentences about day-to-day life with anxiety. For example, a page about feeling nervous in crowds is paired with an image of a large colony of penguins. This lighthearted approach helps make a complex topic child-friendly and easy to understand. Readers are provided with an overview of the daily feelings and challenges associated with apprehension. Suggested solutions are also presented. Hoopmann encourages readers to face what scares them and see it as something that can be managed. By offering an empathetic and relatable look at anxiety, this resource can help promote mental health awareness among children and their families.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Whilst anxiety is a normal and universally experienced emotion, problems with anxiety are becoming increasingly common in children. Anxiety affects many aspects of children's functioning. Children who experience excessive anxiety find it more difficult to learn, and they feel uncomfortable socially. Anxiety can take the fun out of childhood. In the book, All Birds Have Anxiety Kathy Hoopmann creatively communicates in a developmentally appropriate way information about anxiety, how it affects people and most importantly what can be done to manage it. Using beautiful pictures and carefully crafted words, All Birds Have Anxiety is an excellent book that will enable adults to discuss anxiety with children and together develop better strategies to cope with this difficult emotion.—Associate Professor James Scott, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research