Mr. Worry: A Story About OCD

by Holly L. Niner, Greg Swearingen (Illustrator)

Kevin can't get to sleep at night until he does many things. He straightens his chair and the books on his desk. He asks his mother questions he already knows the answers to. He checks under his bed for a light he knows isn't there, and then, a minute later, he checks again. Kevin knows these actions don't make sense; he wants to stop, but the worry thoughts keep coming. When his parents realize that Kevin has too many worries, they take him to talk to a therapist. She tells Kevin and his parents that Kevin has a condition called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and that, more importantly, he can be helped.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mental Health, Emotion, Psychology, Parenting

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

I grew up in Newburgh, New York where I could often be found reading a book under the weeping willow tree. In elementary school, a friend and I picked our library books together, so that we could trade books half way through the week otherwise I would run out of things to read. I loved to read mysteries, historical fiction, about everyday people and even poetry!

While I loved to read, I did not always write stories. In college I studied to be a Speech Therapist and I continue to provide speech therapy services in nursing homes. However, as I read books to my children, I realized that I wanted to write stories that children would love. So I took a writing course and began to learn about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. The first stories I published were in magazines for children.

My first picture book, Mr. Worry: A Story about OCD, was chosen by International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to be included in the Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities 2005 catalog and traveling exhibit. I Can’t Stop: A Story about Tourette Syndrome, received a 2006 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio award and was a 2005 Bank Street College of Education Best Book.

Mr. Worry, is close to my heart because my son has OCD. I feel that books are a wonderful way to explain a difficult topic and are a useful place to start a discussion with a child. So I wrote a story about OCD to help children and their families deal with this difficult disorder.

This year Flashlight Press is releasing my latest books--
The Day I Ran Away, Spring 2017
No More Noisy Nights, Fall 2017
YIPPEE!!

I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana with my husband Keith and one crazy cat. My children, Evan (29) and Beth (27) were always able to talk me into buying them a book. There are books everywhere in this house of readers-on bookshelves, on tables, in boxes in the basement, even in the bathroom!

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very good book. An excellent, gentle explanation of what OCD can feel like from the inside, and what treatment can look like and what it aims you towards.

And I REALLY appreciated the note to parents at the front, making it clear that OCD is genetic, it's caused by a chemical imbalance, and saying "don't worry about it" is NOT going to help, and that your kid is not trying to be annoying by constantly asking you about obsessions, it is just about out of their control. And treatment helps to get it back in their control. Even for me that helped to bring things into tighter focus. Cause a lot of OCD behaviours can on the surface look like "annoying kid behaviour", or "person is just tired", or "person just needs to breathe more" or other stuff that you would— I think legitimately— treat very differently than you would OCD compulsions or obsessions.

So excellent, informative, hopeful little book.

[Denise Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a mom of a worrier, I found this to be an excellent story to share with my daughter.

[Hannah Lewczynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a child with OCD and written by a parent of a child with OCD. This story does a great job of describing what it would be like to be a child with OCD having to constantly check over and over again for perfection and questioning your every movement. This story does a great job at showing an understanding mother, and illustration what she does to talk him out of his thoughts. It talks about using a counselor and I like that because they talked about it as a positive occurrence (a lot of people feel like they're crazy if they need help from a counselor and that isn't the case. Stories like this would help with that misconception. I also like how they gave a description of OCD and how medication and therapy work together to help. I would love to have this book in my house/classroom. Recommended to kids 7-12 in middle school.

[Hezekiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to my 7-year-old to explain how OCD affects me, and it helped her understand what my brain does.

This book uses a framework where OCD is external to the person, which is a common way to go about treatment. Kevin imagines his OCD as an annoying little man named Mr. Worry, who won't stop calling to ask about the things for which Kevin experiences obsessions.

My only criticism is that while I understand the need to reassure a person who asks "So I'm not crazy?", I skipped over some instances of Kevin asking that, because I have many friends who experience psychosis and I want to teach my kids to be empathetic toward people labeled "crazy."

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Nails it. The author gives an accurate description of how it feels to have OCD symptoms, and the metaphors (such as hanging up the phone on a repeat caller with the wrong number) are terrific and helpful. The illustrates for a great job bringing the story to life and helping the reader visualize the feelings. This book makes a person with OCD symptoms feel seen. It is very touching.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to help young children understand OCD and the treatment. Main character Kevin, 8 years old, realizes he is worrying about a lot of things. The book successfully explains OCD in simple terms. Recommended.

Read for FSU class LIS 5564 Info needs of children.

[Christina Bartell · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOT a read aloud for the whole class!!!! However, a good option for a parent to read aloud if their child is suffering.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book.

[Tahlia Studdart]

3.6

[Tabitha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great to introduce this sort of topic to children so they can be informed and they can easily understand the topic.

[Lizzy Schaner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read to me in my exceptional studies class. We were learning about how children can differ mentally and emotionally. Being able to have kids learn how can discover and deal with OCD and other disorders.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't give this book a five because there are a lot of different perspectives of OCD, that are not just like this boy. With that being said, I think that it did a really good job addressing the fears of a child suffering with this disease, and the daily struggle that happens in the mind of a victim.

It gives an interesting, personal view, and I really like that. It gives a new level rather than dealing with it by another person's view point.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a nice resource for any parent that is concerned that their child may be dealing with some OCD issues. The forward has some information for parents and teachers and the narrative of the story is done well and could be that catalyst for discussing any thoughts that invade your children's mind to frequently.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because my son has OCD which manifest itself with different symptoms than the character in the story does. However, we read it together and I thought it was a gentle and comfortabl way to open discussion about it.

[Philip Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is wonderfully insightful. It is a story about a young that worries about everything. No matter how big or small the issue, he worries. The author promotes awareness as it relates to individuals with OCD.

[Susan]

Helpful gentle book for children with OCD

[Liwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

故事書有一個小小的副標寫著a story about OCD，跟我一樣的特教人看到了一定很有 Fu～～啦！！這本繪本是在說一個有Obsessive compulsive disorder（OCD）強迫症的小男孩，書裡描述了一些強迫症造成的行為以及這些重複性的行為如何造成他生活的不便，和醫生是如何跟小男孩解釋「用藥」這件事。這種議題在台灣比較少有專門的繪本介紹，所以強力推薦給身旁的特教人！！

[Jenkerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the analogies used by the author.

[Disabled Children In Picture Books]

The main character is diagnosed with OCD, which he treats with medication, talk therapy, and aversion therapy.