"A heartfelt, humorous mindfulness manual for fans of funny fiction"
February 2021 Book of the Month
Written and illustrated by Jion Sheibani, Sohal Finds a Friend is a sweet side-splitting story that will provide much comfort to little worriers as they enjoy an adventure in the company of an endearing boy and his furry friends. It’s a brilliant way to help children understand their anxieties and express themselves - think Pixar’s Inside Out in book form.
Sohal is one of life’s worriers and dreads bedtime, when “the darkness would grow and grow, until it filled every part of his body”. His dad’s suggestion of calm breathing doesn’t help, and his mum’s suggestion of counting sheep is useless too, for in Sohal’s mind they’re transformed into mutant alien sheep fleeing a giant robot wolf! But everything changes when he draws the monsters that plague him and…THEY COME TO LIFE! With Hurt, Fail, Anger, Big, and Alone for company, Sohal’s attention is diverted to worrying about them - what will everyone at school think? – but it’s not long before The Worries help him understand and control his own worries, while providing a whole lot of fun.
Funny, with thoughtful themes that foster off-the-page dialogue, this is a warm-hearted winner for 5+ year-olds.
You can find more books on this theme in our Anxiety & Wellbeing collection.
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Inside Out meets Adam Kay in this humorous and heartfelt story about meeting, managing and accepting your worries.
'Inside Out' meets Adam Kay in this humorous and heartfelt story about meeting, managing and accepting your worries. Introducing Hurt, Anger, Big, Fail and Alone... Sohal’s (furry) worries have come alive and they’re leaving a whole lot of mischief and fun in their path!
With an abundance of picture books geared towards mental health and mindfulness, it’s utterly refreshing to read a book on this topic aimed at confident young readers (5+), and Jion Sheibani’s The Worries is the ideal book to get children talking about their feelings.
I liked ‘The Worries’ because the book was funny and sometimes made me laugh out loud. You should read this book because it helps you to understand how to share your worries with others, and it reminds you that everyone worries about something.
I liked ‘The Worries’ because the book was funny and sometimes made me laugh out loud. It was all about a boy called Sohal who worries about everything. One day his worries come to life, follow him around and get him into trouble. The worries are very believable and are all things that I know I sometimes worry about. I enjoyed reading about how Sohal manages to overcome his worries and even makes a friend when he thought he would always be lonely at school. My favourite worry was ‘Alone’ as she is really funny and I sometimes feel alone too. You should read this book because it helps you to understand how to share your worries with others, and it reminds you that everyone worries about something.
Perfect for little people with big emotions.
Aidan - I really like this book because it really helps me with my anxiety. I felt like I was Sohal and they were all of my worries! I think it was really nice that Sohal found a friend and started to find ways to get rid of his worries. It helped me think of a different way to think about my own worries. It was really fun to read and enjoyable and funny. I think a lot of children who have anxiety and worries would like this book, it might help them to know that other people feel the same as them.
Milo - I thought this was so funny. I really liked Big the Worry because he was so confused and sometimes I want to be big and sometimes small.
