When Harley Has Anxiety: A Fun CBT Skills Activity Book to Help Manage Worries and Fears

by Regine Galanti, Vicky Lommatzsch (Illustrator)

When worries and fears come along, Harley the Hedgehog can handle them—and so can your child! A fun activity book for coping with anxiety, for kids ages 5 to 9.

Expert psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Regine Galanti offers an activity book that teaches kids how to be brave and feel less anxious. All children get anxious sometimes. For some kids, though, anxi­ety can become something bigger and more intrusive, stopping them from enjoying friends, family, activities, sports, or school. Through a friendly character, colorful illustrations, and fun activities made specifically for kids ages 5 to 9, they will learn cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies to allow them to work through anxious situations on their own. By practicing these strategies, kids will develop the skills needed to manage their anxiety by changing their worried thoughts, behaviors, and physical reactions.

This age-appropriate guide to coping with anxiety




Managing anxiety can be tough, but with this complete resource, kids will master new skills to use whenever anxiety pops up—so they get back to the joy of being a kid!

160 pages, Paperback

Published August 24, 2021

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

When Harley has Anxietyis an amazing self help book for children, teaching them about what Anxiety is and helping them understand and recognise it as well as learn ways to deal with it and control it.
I l8ved the set out of the book and found it calm and easy to understand for the age range it is aimed at (age 5-9). The book is set out with fun illustrations, relatable content for the child and some great activities for the child to do as they work through it.
My 9 year old is suffering with anxiety since having covid earlier this year and this book seems absolutely perfect for her. I've ordered a physical copy off amazon to do with her and am hoping it will be as helpful to her as I anticipate.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️ Informative

✔️ Educational

✔️ Fun and engaging

✔️ A need and a must have

The book gives a proper and relevant explanation apt for the reading age group regarding the meaning of anxiety and what lies behind it.

I find the approach not overwhelming (as I tend to find with such books, meant for kids or not).

It deals with emotions, how it's a natural feeling and how we can approach such different emotions.

I find the activities quite simple and easy to perform. And as expected, it's quite calming to do them with a child this age.

Not only this exercise book serves as informative and practical, it also serves as a personal journal.

I find the flowcharts really impressive. They are detailed but not tidious.

This book can even help the mentor or the guardian reading alongwith.

Such a helpful book on anxiety.

Thank you, author/artist and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

[Shaena Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for NetGalley:

As a parent and a clinician reviewer, Dr. Galanti does a nice job simplifying emotional terms and coping skills in a manner children will really be able to grasp.

I enjoyed the “fire alarm” explanations and explaining the importance of self care to the younger generation.

The activities were also easy and functional for parents to apply with their children. A great supplemental tool parents can use.

[Lecy Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book was around when I was a kid who was dealing with anxiety. It was full of helpful worksheets that would help children identify emotions and the situations that might make these emotions arise including the thermometer graph where they can actually track their emotional "temperatures." Since the focus of this book is anxiety, there are exercises to teach about triggers and how they can cause anxiety, as well as knowing how anxiety affects their body. There is a very big section on self-care and relaxation techniques, as well as games to keep a child grounded and in their body using the senses, which is a great coping mechanism when dealing with anxiety. This is a fantastic resource for kids with lots of cute illustrations and fun coloring and activity pages that help take the scariness out of dealing with anxiety. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[MookNana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, detailed resource for children experiencing anxiety and their caregivers. It's written in a very simple, direct style that will be easily understood by early elementary kids if it's read to them, and could be read semi-independently by older elementary kids.

The text is clearly organized into sections regarding naming feelings, identifying anxiety triggers, and a large range of potential coping strategies. There are several interactive activities to keep a young reader engaged and owning their process.

I would highly recommend this book as part of a school resource collection and for caregivers. There's so much useful, practical information presented very accessibly.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helping your child fight anxiety can be distressing for both parent and child. This book is a tool for both parent and their children to know the triggers and how to fight them. I found this book very helpful and useful. It helps diffuse situations and a great read for children to see that they are not alone.

A special thank you to Zeitgeist and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book which helps children with anxiety and talks about what anxiety is and it’s very active book . There are tasks in book that children can do which will help them. The illustrations are beautiful. This really easy book to follow and it has introduction for parents snd children about the book and anxiety.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

[Barb Reinhold · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know a child who has anxiety, Harley the Hedgehog and Dr. Regine Galanti are here to help them in this wonderfully unique and innovative workbook designed for grade school age children with anxiety. Dr. Regine Galanti is an expert on treating children with anxiety. In When Harley Has Anxiety, she uses as an example Harley, an anxious hedgehog who has learned to control her own anxiety and helps guide children through the process of understanding their own anxiety and learning how to control it through simplified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy therapy techniques.

Dr. Galanti is impressively adept at breaking down the complexities of anxiety into short sentences that are both very understandable to young children, yet accurately convey how anxiety feels, what causes it and teaches and empowers children to control their own anxiety. The book is richly illustrated with pictures of a visibly anxious Harley. Dr. Galanti starts each exercise describing a situation in which Harley feels anxious (each chapter complete with wonderfully expressive illustrations of Harley) and how Harley has learned to appropriately handle her anxiety. Next, with gentle guidance and reassurance, Dr. Galanti asks the child to describe situations that evoke their own anxiety and learn to apply the coping skills used by Harley in a similar situations.

Because this workbook is so unique and so wonderful, it’s hard to do it justice in a review. Before I actually sat down with the review copy, I didn’t think it was possible to teach CBT skills to young children. But Dr. Galanti does just that by using empathy, reassurance, situations every child can relate to, and a wonderful hedgehog mentor to guide them through the process. As an adult who had severe anxiety as a child, I would have given anything to have had a copy of When Harley Has Anxiety when I was young. If you’re a parent of an anxious child, or a, teacher, or therapist who teaches or treats anxious children, this workbook is a wonderful resource to use with anxious children.

[BlueFalkon95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and interactive book for children aged between 5 and 8 to learn with their parents on how to cope and handle their emotions and anxiety in their life. A hedgehog called Harley has anxiety and learnt on how to be brave and how to reduce anxiety to become more aware of emotions. Harley teaches the children with help from parents or carers about the emotions behind anxiety which can cause children to withdraw from social events and activities. Utilising CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] with illustrations and activities to learn and practice certain strategies to overcome anxiety and manage and alter to being more positive thoughts, emotions, behaviour and physical reactions. Very similar to another book called Starving the Anxiety Gremlin By Kate Collins-Donnelly. Recommended for fans of Stefan G Hofmann PhD, Cathy Creswell, Monika Parkinson,
Kerstin Thirlwall, Lucy Willetts. As I suffer from anxiety as does my boys I will be keeping the book handy so I can help and teach us how to overcome anxiety and to practice activities so we can keep our newly learnt skills up to date.
#WhenHarleyHasAnxiety #NetGalley.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zeitgeist, Z Kids via NetGalley for my honest review of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own thoughts, feelings and viewpoints of the book.

Publish date 24 August 2021 for Netgalley, posted on my WordPress blog, Facebook blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Amazon.com.au, goodreads, along with the non-linked retail online stores that sell the book is at:

My WordPress blog link is http://bluefalkon95adorationofallgenr... I have 27 followers
My Facebook reader blog page link, is https://www.facebook.com/BlueFalkon95... I have 27 followers
My Amazon.com.au link is: Sorry I do not have any followers, I have a reviewer ranking #10,871 now #6,489 on 18 November 2021 with 3 helpful hints.
My Amazon.com link is: No followers and reviewer ranking of #8, 975, 735 on 18 November 2021.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worry is never a pleasant feeling. It may be especially difficult for kids because they may not know the strategies that adults rely upon to become calm(er). This book with chapter titles like Helping Your Anxiety, Being the Boss of Your Mind and Body and Learning to Be Brave is sure to help. The hope is that kids will develop a toolbox filled with ways to cope.

This title begins with two introductions. One is for adults and the other for kids. The author lets adults know that this book uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as its method. It is suggested that adults give children multiple practices with each technique to see which ones work best and to not give up on any one too soon.

The introduction written to kids lets them know that Dr. Galanti will help them to manage their worries. Practice is recommended and hope is offered that worries will lessen as kids learn ways to cope. Children are also offered the company of the cute Harley the Hedgehog on their journey.

In the early part of this book, children are helped to name and recognize emotions. There are activities that make this process unintimidating.

All in all, I think that this book is a helpful resource. It can be used by a child with parents, caregivers, a therapist or school personnel.

As someone who was an anxious child for a time, I would have welcomed a resource like this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher . All opinions are my own.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that truly promotes healing and personal responsibility. I like how the author encourages the reader to examine their behavior and what they can do it change it.

The book covers topics such as identifying emotions, finding triggers, goal setting, and self-care. These are all things that we as adults need to have awareness of, but sometimes we haven’t had the opportunity to reach that point yet. Therefore, I could see creatively oriented adults using this book to help with their own inner child work.

As for using the book with children, many parents might find it best to do the book with their child as opposed to assigning it as independent work. It should also be noted that if you are looking for a self-contained workbook, this isn’t it. Some of the activities require additional resources like glue, food coloring, glitter, sticky notes, and baking soda. You could possibly skip those activities, but your child might not want to. Some of these activities can even be adapted for classroom use.

Overall, I feel that this is an impressive resource that can be used in a variety of ways.

(I did not purchase this book, I received an advanced reader copy).

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Z Kids for a copy of "When Harley Has Anxiety" in exchange for my honest review.

This book is very timely and has fun CBT activities to help children overcome worries and fears. There is the adorable hedgehog that leads the children through the different activities in the book. Parents and caregivers can help children change their thoughts and behaviours and learn how to respond differently to stressors. There are many activities and coping strategies in the book. Parents can set aside a special time each week when they can spend time together and work through the activities.

Children will learn that emotions are normal, no right & wrong, reasons, and emotions can't hurt you.

There are many places where children can write or draw about their emotions. Chances to discuss their worries, figure out how to deal with them. Children and their parents can draw up a coping plan. There is an appendix for parents, signs & symptoms of anxiety to look out for. Strategies for parents. There are also resources - books and websites.

[Joy (Books with Joy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: When Harley Has Anxiety
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Regine Galanti
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Children's Fiction
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• A fun and engaging book that explores the concept of anxiety for children. The book incorporates a character throughout the text to support the narrative and includes interactive activities and exercises
• This book comprises a wide range of activities such as crafts, drawing, and mindful exercises which are easy to perform
• The illustrations are cute and vibrant
• Great resource and introduction into a discussion on anxiety for children

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬: emotions, anxiety, coping strategies and activities for children to understand and cope with anxiety

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫: young children + parents/guardians/teachers

Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞.

[JoAnna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Zeitgeist book for a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is a really great workbook for kids, with helpful CBT activities and wonderful illustrations that make these complex concepts really easy to understand for both adults & kids. Dr. Galanti discusses physical reactions to anxiety, triggers and how to be aware of them, and even how parents can overcompensate for kids anxiety in ways that make it worse, all through a cute Hedgehog named Harley. As someone currently studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling and learning how to provide CBT treatment, this is a great resource to have for working with kids. I fully plan on passing it along to my colleagues who wish to work with this age population, as well as I plan to give it to any of my friends with young kids. I look forward to looking at Dr. Galanti's books for older ages as well, because if it is anything like this it will be filled with extremely helpful material. 4/5

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book full of CBT activities to help kids dealing with their anxiety. This book goes right into helping explain emotions and how they are normal and okay to feel, and how we feel emotions stronger or weaker depending on the situation. It gives different scenarios for kids to then decide what the person would be feeling for each and also how strongly the feeling may be. It goes into worries and the triangle of anxiety. It really helps kids understand some of the triggers, how it makes them feel, and how they respond. It even helps the readers understand all the ways anxiety can affect their body. It gives many different ways for kids to then start to help conquer their anxiety with small steps. Everything from taking care of yourself, moving your body, belly breathing, happy activities, and more. Highly recommend for kids and parents trying to help their kids with many forms of anxiety.

[Kate R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute workbook for anxiety. The author does a great job of simplifying this to a child's level. There is a lot of great information in here and some helpful tips for parents. My 8 year old has been in therapy for a year for his anxiety and honestly, this pretty much covers everything he's currently learned. There were a few things he potentially could use but I think if your child has been in therapy for anxiety, they've probably been taught most of this. I'm wavering between best ages for this workbook. My 8 year old would probably find parts of this super young for him and then other parts too old for him to read and understand. It's not bad at all, but not anything too different than what's currently out there.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Kimberly Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Harley has anxiety is an amazing book geared toward children and management of anxiety. This book will provide helpful tips for children and their caregivers in reference to: identifying feelings, labeling feelings, identifying anxiety, discovering what may cause anxiety, and learning coping strategies. This book fills a niche for the management of anxiety in young children. Anxiety is described including: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so that the child can understand what anxiety is. The illustrations assist with making the book appealing to younger readers. I highly recommend this book for parents, psychologists, guidance counselors, and anyone helping young children with anxiety. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for children who may experience anxiety and a great resource for their caregivers on how to help children recognize and help with their big emotions. It is written simply so that younger elementary age children can understand the questions.

This book will help children name their feelings, identify things that may trigger anxiety as well as how to cope in different ways. There are plenty of interactive questions to keep kids interested in the book.

There is a lot of useful information in this book and I would recommend it to teachers, parents, grandparents and other caregivers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an elementary school social worker, I am always looking for new resources for working with children with anxiety (which is A LOT of my students). This is a fun, interactive way to teach CBT skills and help children understand their anxiety and how to better manage it. This is great for those younger kids and Harley is a cute character. Highly recommend if you work with young children!

[Emily Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little workbook of activities based around emotions and anxiety. Older children could access the activities independently whereas some of the activities younger children would need support or guidance to complete. This is definitely something I could see being of benefit to some of the pupils in my class.

[Sany · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Harley Has Anxiety es un cuaderno de actividades muy bonito diseñado por la doctora Regine Galanti, licenciada en sicología clínica y especializada en terapia cognitiva conductual. Su objetivo es ayudar a los niños a identificar qué les provoca ansiedad, en qué circunstancias y cómo aprender a gestionarla.

Propone una gran variedad de actividades, muy sencillas de seguir pero cuya eficacia radica en la constancia con que se realicen. Es un libro interactivo que parte de un punto muy básico y progresa poco a poco y propone actividades para poner en práctica todo lo aprendido.

Reseña completa en: https://libroshappy.org/when-harley-h...

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC.)

A very cute idea to share with young children. Everyone can benefit from this. Harley has many lessons to teach us all.