Ruby’s Worry is about a typical little girl, Ruby. This sweet little girl enjoys the swings and exploring, but Ruby’s world begins to change when she finds a worry following her. At first the worry is just a small fuzz ball, but as the story progresses, the worry grows. As the worry expands, Ruby begins to feel very sad and concerned. To return to her former carefree self, Ruby finds a conversation and the friendship of another child the key to removing her worry ball from her life. He grew up in a remote and beautiful part of South Shropshire. On reflection this seemed rather more remote than beautiful, owing to the fact that he lived in a small caravan without electricity, mains water or any sensible form of heating. He thinks that he’s probably one of the few people in his peer group to have learnt to read by gas lamp. Ruby's "worry" is seen initially as a small yellow creature--like a dust ball. But the "worry" grows and grows and GROWS until it takes up half the school bus, and many rows in a movie theater, and it's a fun story, just as a story!. I was just taking a train journey on a sunny afternoon when I felt a sudden and overwhelming sense of dread. For some reason, my heart was pounding as though I was about to jump out of a plane with only a plastic bag for a parachute. The feeling intensified when I realised I couldn't understand any of the train announcements, or anything that anyone around me was saying. All I could hear was an indecipherable gobble-de-gook. The whole thing lasted for about five minutes, during which I used up a lifetime's supply of adrenaline and was completely terrified.

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I didn't specify what Ruby is worried about in the book because ultimately, it doesn't matter what the actual problem is - the solution will always be found by opening up about your worries and talking them through with someone, ideally someone thoughtful, sensible and sensitive! I have anxiety. More importantly, I parent a child with severe anxiety. If I had read this to her when she was younger, it would have made her so sad. Talking about her worries does not make them go away. We have tried that. In fact, if she starts talking about them, it sometimes magnifies them and she can't think about anything else. This book would have made her worry even more that she was not normal because talking about her worries doesn't fix them. It wasn't much fun. Shortly after that, I realised that you can't ignore anxiety, or any other problem in your life. It sounds obvious, but when you're in a position of denial, about anything, you can never be truly happy. Maybe it's not going to be the whole solution, but it's always the starting point, and once you know where to start, who knows how far you'll go? The resolution could have been awful and Berenstain-like. But a parent doesn't solve this. A teacher doesn't solve this. Instead, Ruby meets another child, realizes that he has a worry too, and gets him to tell her about it. In turn, she tells him HER worry, and both worries begin to shrink. Kids will get this, and I like Ruby's empathy.No one else could see her Worry, so Ruby tried to ignore it. The more she ignored the Worry, it grew bigger and bigger. It followed her everywhere, stopping her from doing the things she loved. Soon the Worry was so ENORMOUS and overwhelming that it was all she could think about. What Ruby didn’t realise was this is the worst thing you can do with a Worry. Adorable art with a well-intended story, but the simplistic solution , ironically, made me worry a bit. All kids have worries. A lot of them think they are alone. The worries can grow if you try to ignore them. Knowing you are not alone can help. This is all true, and this is all the great part of the book. But Ruby finds another child who also has a worry (great!), and they talk about them (wonderful!), and the worries go away (you were so close!). Tom Percival has cast a sympathetic and appealing character in Ruby, his lead in Ruby’s Worry. Ruby is placed in a range of situations throughout the story that many young readers will be able to directly correlate to their own experiences. Ruby possesses qualities of joy, happiness and energy, in conjunction with her sad moments. This makes Ruby’s story very authentic and I hope that readers will see that their feelings are substantiated through this valuable storybook character. Teaching them that it's okay to worry and that it helps to talk about worries is an important lesson for them--and perhaps for us too. Use this topic web to support teaching a unit of work based on the book Ruby's Worry. Learners will enjoy cross-curricular activities based on the themes within the story. There are ideas for activities in Literacy and English, Numeracy and Mathematics, Expressive Arts, Social Studies, Sciences, Health and Wellbeing and Technologies. The Curriculum for Excellence promotes interdisciplinary learning and this IDL grid is perfect to help teachers save time when planning.

Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival | Waterstones

Explore more fantastic Early Level Mental and Emotional Wellbeing resources here! You'll find a variety of written activities, PowerPoints, games, display posters, and more. What will my child learn participating in this topic? Tom Percival, the author and illustrator of Ruby’s Worry, taps in children’s emotional needs in his latest picture book, Ruby’s Worry. In today’s busy world, young children are presenting with anxiety issues and are often unable to discuss their worries. Tom Percival has recognised this and has composed a children’s picture book that opens up the vital channels of communication around this sensitive subject area. These words don't make us feel good. They're a bit like those bright yellow caterpillars that warn birds not to eat them because they're poisonous. In fact, just typing them out makes my stomach feel knotted, especially the last two... I guess that means I'm susceptible to stress.

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A perceptive and poignant story that is a must-have for all children's bookshelves. From Tom Percival's bestselling Big Bright Feelings series, this is the perfect book for discussing childhood worries and anxieties, no matter how big or small they may be. If your child has a worry - and all children do have worries - this is the ideal book to encourage them to talk about it' Parents In Touch Children love the story 'Ruby's Worry'. It is a wonderful book that promotes talking about feelings. Teachers and pupils will discuss how we feel in different situations and scenarios and how talking to others about our worries can help. Children will be able to see links between different subjects, which leads to deeper, more valuable learning. It is very important for a child's health and wellbeing for them to recognise how they feel and what to do if they feel they need help with their mental health. Who is this topic web for?