Wemberly Worried
Wemberly Worried book cover

Wemberly Worried

Paperback – Picture Book, April 27, 2010

by
Price
$7.64
Format
Paperback
Pages
32
Publisher
Greenwillow Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0061857768
Dimensions
8 x 0.12 x 10 inches
Weight
4.7 ounces

Description

“Henkes once again puts his finger on the pulse of young children, combining good storytelling, careful characterization, and wonderfully expressive artwork to create an entertaining and reassuring picture book.” — School Library Journal (starred review) “Wemberly shows that being human is cause for celebration, even if you’re a mouse.” — New York Times Book Review “This winning heroine speaks to the worrywart in everyone.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) A back-to-school favorite Wemberly worried about spilling her juice, about shrinking in the bathtub, even about snakes in the radiator. She worried morning, noon, and night. "Worry, worry, worry," her family said. "Too much worry." And Wemberly worried about one thing most of all: her first day of school. But when she meets a fellow worrywart in her class, Wemberly realizes that school is too much fun to waste time worrying! Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He receivedxa0the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon ; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen ; two Newbery Honors—one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller —and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble . His other books include Sun Flower Lion , A Parade of Elephants , Chrysanthemum , and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse . Kevin Henkes lives with his family in a house in Madison, Wisconsin. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Wemberly worried about everything. Big things. Little things. And things in between. Then it was time for school to start. And Wemberly worried even more.
  • If you ever worry (or know someone who does), this is the book for you.
  • Wemberly worried about spilling her juice, about shrinking in the bathtub, even about snakes in the radiator. She worried morning, noon, and night. "Worry, worry, worry," her family said. "Too much worry."
  • And Wemberly worried about one thing most of all: her first day of school. But when it's time to go back to school and she meets a fellow worrywart in her class, Wemberly realizes that school is too much fun to waste time worrying!
  • This warm and comforting back-to-school favorite is from Kevin Henkes, the nationally bestselling and celebrated creator of
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
  • ,
  • Kitten's First Full Moon
  • , and
  • Chrysanthemum.
  • “This winning heroine speaks to the worrywart in everyone.” —
  • Publishers Weekly
  • (starred review)

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(770)
★★★★
25%
(321)
★★★
15%
(192)
★★
7%
(90)
★
-7%
(-90)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Good for your little worrier

My 5 year old daughter is a big worry-wort. I don't know where she gets it from, but worry, worry, worry is what she does. A friend recommended this book, and I am so glad she did. I didn't give my daughter much background, just started reading. Wemberly worries about everything big and small. There are cute illustrations to go with each simply written page. At the end of the story, Wemberly makes a new friend and learns she does not need to worry so much.
As I read the book to my daughter for the first time, her smile grew and grew, especially when we read about Wemberly rubbing the ears of her special rabbit, the way my daughter does with her "lovey." When we got to the end, she immediately asked me to read it again, and then again two more times. After the initial reads, we had a really good heart to heart about worries. Seeing Wemberly overcome her worries helped more than me saying "don't worry." I won't say my worry-wort has been magically reformed, but the book was a good conversation starter that was on her level. I highly recommend for the little worrier in your life.
17 people found this helpful
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Made things worse.

My daughter now pretends to be like Wemberly and worries more than before......
9 people found this helpful
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Great for Little Ones Starting Something New!

This is a lovely book for little ones who are getting ready to start kindergarten or preschool. While this likely gets selected most of all for children who express a lot of worries, it’s also great to share with kids who are thrilled to try new things. Why? It gives them a chance to develop empathy and understanding for their friends — and for families to talk about how to help out friends who seem scared, nervous or shy.

Overall, it’s a sweet, simple story about looking to adults and other kids when faced with fears.
7 people found this helpful
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For the extremely worried

This book would have made my child worry about things that never worried him
6 people found this helpful
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Not helpful

This is an OK story. However, it does not offer any real help for kids to deal with their anxieties, so I did not find it to be a satisfiying purchase.
5 people found this helpful
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Poor choices in language that are not constructive or healthy. Overall, lacks empathy.

I throw out any books that I have to censor language in *for any age*, and this book ended up in the recycling. This book CLEARLY was not written by someone with mental illness. I read this to my preschoolers because, as someone who grew up with anxiety from preschool into adulthood, I feel mental health is really important to teach. Any time Wemberly expresses her anxieties, an adult is always ready to dismiss her with "You worry too much, stop worrying, everything will be fine, etc." I feel that the language and approach to her worries are incredibly dated (2000). There was no acknowledgement of her feelings, no adult-led investigation into why she is having these worries, and no offers of coping tools or real support. The message felt like it was "Don't worry about the unknown, trust an adult when they promise that everything will be fine." Anxious people (children and adults) cannot "choose" to not worry; a simple "there's no reason to worry" is not a solution. And what if everything isn't fine like they promised? There are waaaay better, more modern** books that show children that "they aren't the only kid with worries/everyone worries" with language that does not perpetuate toxicity and belittlement when it comes to people of all ages who suffer from anxiety/worries. This book poorly models adults and sets up kids to think that it's okay for their emotions to be dismissed.
3 people found this helpful
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The description seemed like it was about worrying and what to do

The description seemed like it was about worrying and what to do. It ends up the mouse has all these worries, but the only solution they offer is the worry about school when she meets someone to play with there. Also, really disappointed that I tried to return it and it cost over almost $5 to return it on a $7 purchase.
3 people found this helpful
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Great condition

This book came in perfect condition.
2 people found this helpful
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So so book

Not my favorite story. I was hoping it would help with anxiety but I dont feel like it gets the message across very well. It wasnt relatable enough for us. Good book to practice the W sound if you need to though.
2 people found this helpful
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This book is great for elementary aged children

This book is great for elementary aged children! I always read it at the beginning of the school year to teach about being worried about the first few days of school. This book is also great for children with anxiety to learn how to cope with it. As always, Kevin Henkes provides great vocabulary and this book easily lends itself for comprehension questions.
2 people found this helpful

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