Feelings of worry and fear

Wemberly worried

by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly, a shy little mouse is a big worry-wart.  She worries about everything from spilling her juice, to shrinking in the bath and whether the big tree in her front yard will fall down onto the house.  Wemberly's family tell her that she worries too much but they are still there to support her.  Wemberly's first day of preschool looms large and she worries...."what if no one else wears stripes?", "what if the room smells bad", "what if I can't find the bathroom".... and her family tells her not to worry.  But, of course, she worries all the way there!  At preschool, Wemberly's teacher quickly recognises her anxieties and she goes out of her way to alleviate them by engaging her in lots of fun activities and introducing her to a new friend; someone equally as worried as Wemberly!  Soon, Wemberly relaxes whilst she is playing with her new friend and they day whizzes by very quickly.  As it is time for Wemberly to leave, her teacher calls out "Come back tomorrow" to which Wemberly replies "I will, don't worry"!  This tale will help families with their own little worry-wart to recognise that they really don't need to worry so much and that there are lots of things and people that can make us relax and enjoy ourselves, taking our mind away from all the things that we worry about.

Citation:

Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly worried, New York : Greenwillow Books, 2000.

Community Rating:

1086 reader ratings with an average score of 4.12 out of 5 stars (courtesy of www.GoodReads.com)

Awards:

(1) Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2000, Won Award

(2) School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2000, Won Award

(3) ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards, 2001, Won Award

(4) American Library Association Notable Books for Children, 2001, Won Award

(5) Original Voices Award, 2001, Won Award