Tags
Don't Think about Purple Elephants, EK Books, Gwynneth Jones, picture book about worries, Susan Whelan
Some kids are very chilled out and others – like my daughter – worry about everything. This is a book for the worriers of the world.
Sophie worries all the time but especially at night. Her family come up with all sorts of ideas to help – a glass of milk, a favourite toy (or in the case of the family cat, a mouse to play with – eek!). Nothing helps. Until her mum tells her not to think about purple elephants.
Sophie thinks that this is a very silly thing for her mum to say. But as soon as her eyes are closed images of purple elephants immediately pop up into her mind. They are very nice elephants too, doing all sorts of fun things, and do she is finally able to drift off into a happy slumber.
At the end of the book she has firmly decided to not think about purple elephants – she is going to not think about blue monkeys instead.
As a worrier myself, I know all about how they always come at night – when the world is quiet and your brain starts going crazy. Jess enjoyed this story without seeing it as issue focussed because it is tackled with a light approach. The illustrations are also lovely – and show how Sophie feels when she worries very successfully. The elephants are also extremely cute.
If you don’t worry, you’ll still enjoy it. But if you do worry, this is a good book to have around. We’ve taken to saying things like ‘I certainly won’t be thinking about green hedgehogs’ when I tuck the kids up at night. The idea has definitely caught on.
This would be a great book to use in schools too – sadly with things like SATs, kids are all too aware of feeling anxious these days. Young people need guidance about dealing with fears and worries, and I think this is a great book to choose.
(Kindly sent to us for review by EK Books)
