The Worrywarts: A Whimsical Alliterative Picture Book About Animal Friends and What-If Worries for Kids

by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

What if...? Wombat asks Weasel and Woodchuck if they want to wander the world with her, but they are overwhelmed with worries. What if they walk into a swarm of waiting wasps?
What if the weather worsens?
What if they're walloped by warthogs?
What then...?
Popular author/illustrator duo Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole team up again to deliver a wonderful whimsical alliterative tale.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Emotion, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Pamela Duncan Edwards is a British-born children's author living in the United States. She has written over forty picture books published in both the U.S. and the U.K., known for their playful language and engaging storytelling.

Reviews

[Rebecca Tuggle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book to remind students that they don’t need to worry! I read this to my Kindergarteners and they loved the story and understood the message. This is a good book to read when you are talking about different emotions that people feel.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book shows that if you explore your worries you can prepare for them. I love how it shows that life will send us challenges and how it shows that it is really fun to meet the challenges life sends our way. And how we get braver and stronger as we meet those challenges.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story filled with "w" words.

[Leslie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to use for teaching alliteration!

[Ashley Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book. It teaches children that there is no need to worry. The colors and pictures in this book is amazing.

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun alliteration about the worrywarts who, interestingly enough, enjoy all words that start with "w". A fun teaching tool and whimsical book for young children.

[Sharon Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for the letter of the week. It is filled with W words.

[Christine Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Countdown to Kindergarten: Letter W.

There could not be a more wonderful book showcasing the letter W!!!! So many W words and yet the story did not seem contrived. The children loved this story!

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! I can't wait to use this in our writing class.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many "W" things to be worried about!

[Faith Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book! Perfect book to read in lower grades if you are covering the letter W or discussing a character trait like being brave.

[Heather Russon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about 3 friends that want to explore the world but are worried about the what if's. It focuses on words that start with w. So it could be really good to help the students learn about the sound w makes and how it sounds connected with other letters. I think it's a good book because it get's people thinking about what if's but you also see how they find solutions, and how they think optimistically and find creative ways to fix things. I think that is super important for students to learn and know. We want them to be able to problem solve things and this book helps them see it. You could even have them think of solutions to the problems presented. I think this book would be really fun for children around age 5.

[Mattie Weck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the lighthearted story line of this book. While reading, I noted that the simplicity of it helps in the understanding of alliterations. I think it would a really fun read aloud in the classroom. The illustrations are adorable and definitely add to the narrative. This book would be perfect for a language arts lesson focusing on alliterations. It is filled with practically every W-word imaginable, and presents alliterations in a simple, but fun way. Its humorous text makes learning about alliterations entertaining. Although the text is so heavily focused on the use of W-words, in my opinion, it still provides an amusing story line for readers.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for teaching alliterations. A fellow student at Piedmont introduced me to this book in our reading methods course. I liked the pictures and felt that kids would enjoy the story as well as its usefulness for little read about reading method. For her lesson she made an alphabet alliteration book for each child contributes from a to z to create a class book.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is brought to you by the letter W. I was rather impressed with all of the W words, though I found myself looking more for what words were coming rather than look at the illustrations. Still. A humorous story which the pictures add to. I don't think I could ever read this aloud because of all the Ws.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of alliterations having the /w/ sound. For children who worry a lot and constantly thinks of the what if's this book makes a strong connection. However, we have all faced decisions where we thought, what if and it can be a good thing to think of the consequences of actions, but the worry warts go overboard with it. This book is great for expressions with older children. K-4

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is all about the letter W. This would be a good read aloud after discussion of the letter and its phonemes /w/ ect. This is also a good book for text-to-self connection for myself and kids who, like me, tend to worry a lot. This book also incorporates humor into the storyline that kids would enjoy.

[Diantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty funny book. I guess I never really knew how many words started with the letter "W." It was pretty clever how it all flowed together. There could be a sequel to this and keep it going.

I think kids would like this book because of all the excitement and the pictures that go along with it. The pictures help make the book what it is.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three friends - a Wombat, a Weasel, and a Woodchuck - set out to explore the great wild world all the while worrying about bad things that could happen. The bad things as well as the solution to them all revolve around the letter W. It got be quite a chore to read this book out loud. You gotta love W!

Great illustrations.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of "w" going on in this alliterative story about wombat, weasel and woodchuck's worries about their adventure outside. Preschoolers will revel in the absurdity of their situation. Only for the strong of tongue...this is a challenging readaloud!

[Shaley Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about animals that keep worrying, even when they try not too. Once they stop worrying about one thing they start to worry about something new. This would be a great book for the children in class to relate to.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to introduce alliteration. If the characters stop worrying about something, they start worrying about another. Funny book to introduce many strategies with. A must have for the classroom.

[Candice Call · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book to have in your classroom library that could be used for a variety of things. Could have a text-to-self connection, creates and active mental process, introduces the grapheme and the /w/ sound. And also has a very funa nd enjoyable storyline that students would follow along with.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The excessive use of W overshadowed the worrying. As a counselor, I want to focus on the worrying aspect and this book didn't work for me. The tongue twisters would be good for teaching about the letter "W," but not anxiety. They are too distracting.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of words that start with w. We noticed the different sounds that the letter makes. There were words like worry, world, wombat, whole, weasel, and etc. You can also talk about how we all worry sometimes but things will work out in the end.

[Natalie Heavrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about the grapheme "w" and the phoneme /w/. It'd be great to read when working on W with thoe whole class. It'd also be good for a bit of extra help if a child was struggling. The book is very funny, so I don't think kids would see it as work.

[April Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for children when working on phonics. It does a great job illustrating all of the sound w can make. This would be a great book for students who are having difficulty hearing the different w sounds and other letter combinations that sound like the w.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alliterative! Both the 3 and the 6 year old enjoy this one. I can't say that it's one of my all time favorites, but it's fun to read.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of alliteration.

[Callie Risse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is packed with examples of the /w/ phenome. Kindergarteners would benefit from this book as they learn about the letter W.