Way Past Worried (Great Big Feelings)

This true-to-life depiction of social anxiety is simply but effectively rendered...It is worth making space on the shelf for this one.

PreS-Gr 1—Worries that are not addressed have a tendency to snowball out of control. Brock "feels a little worried" when he finds out his brother will not go to his friend Juan's superhero-themed birthday party with him. Though Brock's father tries to reassure him, Brock's anxiety only grows. His costume seems too small, his friends ride past him on their way to the party, and he arrives late, each mishap adding to his growing list of concerns. Feeling left out and overwhelmed, Brock hides in a tree. To his surprise, he finds another child, Nelly, already there. After getting to know each other and talking about their worries, they feel more brave and join the fun together. Adelman's first-person narration does a reasonable job conveying a child's perspective without slipping into a moralizing adult voice. De la Prada's appealing cartoonish illustrations depict a diverse group of kids in generic superhero costumes, with an assortment of capes and masks. VERDICT A good addition to most library collections, especially those looking to add books on the topic of anxiety.—Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Lib., Boston Univ.

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.