Independent reading level: grades 1-2

Little Ruby likes to do new things and explore unknown places. She was happy with the way she was. Everything felt good until one day. Then, something bothered her, and it was tiny at first. But then it grew, grew, and grew. Finally, it became so big that she was not the happy, carefree Little Ruby anymore. Ruby wanted to get rid of it. Did she get back to herself?

We picked this book based on a review. It is a perfect gem to begin the conversations on emotion with young kids. Negative emotions are tough to discuss with young kids, but this book does it effortlessly. The illustrations are colorful and childlike. We liked Mr. Worry’s portrayal.
Ruby’s Worry will chase away yours, a must-have book in every toddler’s library. Don’t worry, adults, you too can add it safely.
Read the full review at Nothing But Picture Books ( )

From Zones of Regulation Book list ( )

This is one of my favorite books to read aloud, and one that my preschool/pre-k class is constantly requesting to hear. It’s exciting for them to spot the worry bubbles, but understandable to connect with the feeling of having the burden and heft of a worry, that follows you around and lingers when you don’t want it to. This book shows a young girl name Ruby experience the feeling of a growing worry, in the shape of a big yellow cloud like blob that follows her around, but no one else can see it. She realizes ways to help manage her worry, and this helps children (and grown-ups) see why talking about how we feel is so important, and can help us to shed some of our worries. This book is a mirror book, for young Black girls to see themselves in, and a window for those of other races to see that a young Black girl is experiencing the same thing they are, forming connections. This book is great for dialogic reading in a classroom as well, and allows for critical conversations around social-emotional learning. One quote I enjoyed from this book was: "But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there's a great way to get rid of them too." This book has won a “Read for Empathy Collections” award in 2019. ( )

Ruby discovers that her "worry," which is a metaphor for her anxiety. After seeing that other people also had a "Worry" she was confident enough to talk about her own, and she found that talking about it made her "worry" smaller. I think this was a great little realistic fiction book for introducing the issue of anxiety to a younger audience, and more importantly, how to cope, and communicate with others about it. Talking to people helps, and getting help is ok, is the main takeaway with this book. ( )