Anxious? Choose your own attitude by Gail Hayes, illustrated by Helen Flook

I'm generally happy to get recommendations from patrons, but one particular category frustrates me - when people ask me to purchase specific (usually crappy self-published, didactic books off Amazon) titles on subjects that I already have a wide range of excellent titles on. "But this was recommended by - random celebrity, person on the internet, ads on my phone - etc.." Sigh. It's very frustrating. Anyways, during and after the first years of the pandemic I got an increase in books for kids about dealing with anxiety and I think I have a pretty good collection, but I'm always willing to look at a good addition.

This choose-your-own-adventure style book helps kids make good choices about dealing with strong feelings, especially anxiety. The author, Gail Hayes, is a licensed counselor and has developed the technique demonstrated in the book through her work. The introduction explains what anxiety is, generally speaking, and tells readers that they will be making choices in the following scenarios based on two kinds of thinking - Bubble Thinking or Slug Thinking.

The scenarios show a number of different children, in a classroom that features a variety of ethnicities but only one general body type, facing various scenarios. One student feels overwhelmed by all the things he has to do. When he chooses to listen to the slug, he lets his worries overwhelm him and the day goes as badly as he expects. When he chooses bubble thinking, he goes to the school counselor and gets some techniques for dealing with his anxiety. He finishes the day by talking to his mom for more reassurance and the day ends well. Another child is anxious and upset by listening to his parents argue, a girl worries over choosing a group for a group project, and another girl is being left behind by her friend group as they explore new interests.

The text is fairly lengthy, clearly made to be read aloud with a group or individual one story at a time. The pages are decorated with simple, colorful illustrations showing children in a variety of emotions and situations. The stories end with questions around each story, talking about the choices you, the reader, made, and how to connect them to your own life and experiences. The last spread introduces a fun emotion chart using the Jamaican tangelo, or Ugly Fruit.

Verdict: This is an excellent resource for teachers and caregivers helping kids navigate challenges at social-emotional challenges, especially surrounding anxiety. While it's not a be-all and end-all resource, it's a great starting point and a resource most libraries will want to have in their parenting or social-emotional learning sections. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781486727001; Published June 2023 by Flowerpot Press; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library