One thing that never changes from year to year is that there are always students dealing with worry. Worry Small Group is definitely on the calendar, but I am always on the hunt for a book about worry that accurately describe the experience of worry as well as meaningful, effective strategies that students can practice. I recently received Worry Says What? by Allison Edwards (published by National Center for Youth Issues), and I know I’ll be reaching for it for years to come.

Worry Says What? Great Book about Worry for Your Students

Book Summary

In Worry Say What?, the main character personifies her worry as an intruding monster setting up camp in her mind. Worry’s voice drowns out her own. Worry tells her she can’t do things, that people won’t like her, and that she shouldn’t even try.

Personification is a strategy I have found to be helpful with students who struggle to understand what worry exactly is. When they can give it a name and imagine it as a being or a monster, it’s much easier to counter what the worry has to say. In my worry group, I have students create their own worry monsters so they can name them, talk to them, and tell them to leave!

When the main character decides to talk to Worry and ask him if she will always be afraid, he tells her she will be afraid as long as she listens to him. So she decides that she is done listening to Worry!

Your students will get to see the character tell Worry to leave, ignore what he has to say, and argue with the messages Worry has whispered in her ear for a long time. Even when she makes a mistake, she stands up to Worry as he tries to creep back into her mind.

Review

The situations presented in the book are incredibly relatable for so many students. The character has worries relating to school performance, friendship, sports, and even the dark. I really love the way that the character uses externalization and personification to confront her worry. Her self-talk to drown out Worry is a great example that students will be able to make their own. The author also included 3 helpful strategies that parents and educators can use to help students at home or in the classroom. Overall, I really love this book and will be giving it a front space on the shelf.

Follow Up Activity

For a follow-up activity to do with your students, have them create a personification of their own worry. Maybe a monster is accurate for your students or perhaps they see worry as a boulder or even an annoying seagull. Give them space to imagine just how their worries will take form.

Then, help students to create their own self-talk to counter what worry has to say. Write out the statements that worry says and then write out what they will say to drown worry out! Students can create a foldable flap book like the one pictured below (this is in my free resource library) if they need a reminder of what to say.

Have you ordered Worry Says What? yet? Grab your copy from National Center for Youth Issues or on Amazon!