Is My Worry Worth Worrying About?

By Becky Overeem
A gentle story about worries, anxiety, and finding calm

When worries start to feel too big to carry, it can be hard for tamariki to know what to do next. Is My Worry Worth Worrying About? invites young readers into the inner world of a child whose body feels tight, buzzy, and overwhelmed - and gently shows them how to pause, notice, and work through those worries with care.

Through a warm, reassuring story and Sarah Trolle’s beautiful illustrations, this book normalises anxiety and helps children understand how worry can show up in their bodies. It offers a compassionate starting point for talking about fears, uncertainty, and coping - without minimising how real those feelings can be.

The book also includes a dedicated section for children, parents, and caregivers, with practical tools and prompts to help families navigate worries together. A thoughtful resource for homes, classrooms, and therapeutic settings, this debut picture book is both comforting and empowering.

How this resource supports our tamariki:

This book helps children recognise anxiety signals in their bodies - like a racing heart, sore tummy, or busy thoughts - and introduces simple, supportive ways to respond.

Reading it together opens up gentle conversations about worries and helps tamariki learn to pause and ask, “Is this worry worth worrying about?” Over time, it can become a shared language for noticing worries early and working through them with reassurance and connection.