The Huge Bag of Worries

Author – Virginia Ironside, illustrated by Frank Rodgers

Age Range – Whole family

Key words – Story about worrying

This colourfully illustrated picture book is both for children and their families and carers, and could be used in a classroom setting. In The Huge Bag of Worries Ironside and Rodgers bring to life the experience of anxiety and depression, as well as showing a practical way of addressing them. This honest, sensitively told story uses vivid yet unalarming illustrations to create a safe, accessible exploration of a painful subject.

Through the story of Jenny, a once-happy girl who has recently acquired an actual ‘bag of worries’ which plagues her existence, growing in size and ability to make her unhappy, the reader is given a powerful insight into the experience of worry, anxiety and depression. Her attempts to deal with this ‘bag’ are revealing about the way children internalise problems and may be unable to approach the adults in their lives for help. Resolution and hope are offered in the timely intervention of a kindly neighbour who calmly and firmly unpacks the bag in Jenny’s presence, dealing with the worries in various ways, and offering the adult reader a very sound model to follow.

This is a storybook full of both humour and heart; it is fun as well as moving and informative and could be very effective in addressing a child’s unexpressed experience. It alerts adults to behavioural changes that may signify increasing anxiety, and gives both children and their carers a language in which to approach this issue.

Some may feel it is too difficult a subject to be dealt with in this way; or that the subject matter is too old for the picture-book presentation. However, given that even very young children are prone to silent fears, it seems a very safe and reassuring context in which to deal with real issues.