Book Review
A short overview of this book
The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside will help parents with talking to kids about worries and what to do with them. This is a fun book that will help kids start to understand and manage their worries.
An important part of protective behaviours is in helping kids to understand their feelings and to encourage them to talk to someone if they are worried about something. Which means that if they are sexually abused or touched inappropriately, they are more likely to tell someone (so that it stops).
You can learn more on this page, about how to talk to kids about sex education.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 5 to 8 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! I’m Cath Hak, and welcome to Sex Ed Rescue. On my YouTube channel and website, I review a bunch of books that make it easier to talk to kids about love, sex, relationships, staying safe, and preventing sexual abuse. I’m actually doing a clean out of my bookshelves because they’re overflowing, and I have a friend who works with families that could really use these books. So, I’m reviewing them to help you decide if they might be helpful for you too.
Today, I want to talk about The Huge Bag Of Worries by Virginia Ironside, illustrated by Frank Rogers. This book has been around for a while, and it’s a great resource for kids to understand that we all have worries and what we can do about them. Now, it’s important to note that this book is about occasional worries, not anxiety.
The story follows Jenny, who has a pretty great life with her mom, dad, sometimes-likeable brother, best friend, and a dog. But lately, she’s been feeling down because she’s worried about things like gaining weight, her best friend leaving, getting bad grades, and even wars and bombs. All these worries start piling up, and she ends up with a huge bag of worries that she carries everywhere.
Jenny tries to get rid of the worries, but they keep coming back. She feels lost and doesn’t know what to do. She even asks her brother and mom for help, but they don’t quite understand. The bag of worries keeps getting bigger, and it starts affecting her sleep and overall happiness.
Then, one day, a wise old lady comes along and notices Jenny’s bag of worries. She encourages Jenny to open it up and take a look inside. The lady explains that worries hate being seen, and the secret is to let them out slowly, one by one, and share them with someone else. By doing this, the worries start to go away.
The lady helps Jenny sort her worries into groups. Some worries disappear right away, while others are put in a shopping basket so Jenny can deal with them. And there are even worries that belong to other people, which Jenny realizes she doesn’t need to carry.
This book is all about the analogy of worries being like a bag that keeps filling up. But sometimes, we have to open up that bag, share our worries, and let them go. It’s a great conversation starter for parents and kids to talk about worries and find ways to manage them together.
I hope this review was helpful! Cheers!
