Ruby Finds A Worry, lovely message + great art=fabulous book

A worry is not a physical thing. The moment you stop obsessing over said ‘worry’ it magically disappears into the background of life. It’s natural to have illustrated books about being worried because some miss and some hit. Ruby Finds a Worry is by Tom Percival and expertly brings his warmth, pacing, sublime story telling ability and art to a worthy book about a topic that we need to address…but not be worried about.

Ruby is a happy girl who likes to swing and play in the garden. Everything is going great until one day she discovers a worry. It’s a yellow blob that’s colored outside of the lines and has a concerned look in its brow. She barely notices the worry and continues on with life, but the worry keeps getting bigger. Its brow keeps getting bigger also. As the worry starts to take up four seats at the movie theater its brow looks downright hostile.

As the worry accompanies Ruby her enjoyment of life decreases also. She doesn’t have fun in art class. Her favorite cereal for breakfast and her hobbies all seem to pale, both literally and figuratively next to the worry. As she was figuring out what to do with her big yellow worry she happened across a boy in the park who had his own worry. The only difference is that his was blue, but it was just as big and obviously affecting his life.

 As the two kids start to talk she realizes that other people in her life have worries also. She becomes aware that they’re normal and part of everyone’s life. The difference between your worry and my worry is how we deal with it. That could be through exercise, talking to friends or other methods that make your worry shrink to the size of hers by the end of the book. Of course, they’ll come back, but now she knows how to deal with them.

Tom Percival tells a story to a child by letting them take the driver’s seat. Elementary aged kids will love this book as it tells them something that they’re thinking of and dealing with. But it presents the information in a way that is 100% story and fun, instead of being told or taught. Our 7 year-old sees the worry and knows what’s coming even before the words of the story confirm that path. Kids love this method of storytelling. For our son, it makes him feel smart and empowered. It doesn’t tell him that worrying (in this case) is something to avoid. Rather, he learns from the way that Ruby is acting in the story and realizes that he does not want to act like this.

Percival’s art is also great. There’s a timeless vibe to it that is simultaneously modern for the younger readers and classic that the parents reading the book will check in to.  To make things even more appealing, the font looks like a classic typewriter and the aforementioned art is corner to corner on most pages. Ages 4 and up will really enjoy Ruby Finds A Worry. This is clever storytelling that kids will relate to from the first page.