Today, we officially launch our new monthly feature Novel Novice Junior — in which we’ll be featuring books for younger readers. For this first installment, I’m very excited to introduce you to The WorryWoos … plus, keep reading for your chance to win one!
The WorryWoo Monsters are an award winning series of books and plush dolls written and illustrated by Andi Green. Emotions themselves are turned into lovable quirky characters that embark on delightful journeys of self-awareness. Created to promote healthy emotional wellness, each WorryWoo adventure concludes with an upbeat message of “Hey, it’s OK” and present the perfect opportunity to openly discuss topics that don’t have easy answers.
I love that this series gives parents a way to open up discussion about emotions and feelings, as kids struggle with things like fear, loneliness, and insecurity. Each story puts these feelings into emotions for young readers, and let’s their parents talk about ways to deal with each issue.
The plush dolls are soft and adorable, and are a really clever tool for helping kids connect with the books and the WorryWoo Monster featured in each story.
To fully offer a comprehensive review of the WorryWoos, I turned to some of my friends with kiddos of their own to see how the kids reacted to the books and plush dolls. Westyn, who is almost four, snuggled right up with her plush of Wince (the Monster of Worry) while her mom read Don’t Feed the Worry Bug. Westyn’s also old enough that after reading the book, her mom could help Westyn relate the story and the idea of not letting your worries get the best of you in real life. (I also had a plush of the Worry Bug – pictured above – for Westyn’s two-year-old brother, Lane – but he was napping during story time.)
I also shared The Lonely Little Monster with my friend’s two-year-old daughter Gwen. Gwen loves story time, and recognized her plush of Nola, the Monster of Loneliness, in the book. She’s a bit too young yet to talk about the emotions in the book, but she’s clearly had fun hearing the story and snuggling with Nola. As she gets older, no doubt the story will have more meaning to her — and she’s certainly already made a connection to the character.
What I love even more is that classroom kits for using the WorryWoos in early education are available, with lesson plans and activities guides currently being developed! I love, love, love the idea of using the WorryWoos in the classroom — the WorryWoos can be a very powerful tool for kids to learn about recognizing, understanding, and addressing different emotions.
If you want to share the WorryWoos with your kids, you can shop online or find a retailer near you.Here are other ways to connect with the WorryWoos online:
Win your own WorryWoo Monster!
Thanks to the WorryWoo team, we’re giving you a chance to take home your very own Monster.
Winner will receive your choice WorryWoo book and matching plush doll, plus an “I heart WorryWoos” tote! Meet all the Woos here to choose which one you’d most like to receive, if you’re chosen as the winner.
Just fill out the Rafflecopter form here for your chance to win.
For the comments: Tell us which WorryWoo Monster you can relate to the most!
Novel Novice 
I can relate to Twitch the most, sad but true.
I can relate to all of them at some point, but with 8 kids Twitch would definitely be the front runner- frustration is a feeling I deal with daily!
I’d say that I relate most to Nola, though I worry a lot so Wince is up there, too.
I’d say that I relate most to Nola, though Wince is up there on my list.
Overall, I relate most to Nola. In my professional life, I’m constantly experiencing feeling of frustration, so I empathize with Twitch as well.