Oscar’s monster

Pitch: Oscar’s worry seems to be quite a handful. As Oscar shares his fears, the worry grows larger and more menacing, feeding off his worries. But Oscar learns the key to managing it: positive talk, outdoor activity, and doing things he enjoys. The worry shrinks as Oscar dances and plays with other kids, and soon, Oscar is ready to face school with excitement and new friends. 

Concepts: Anxiety, Worry, New School/beginnings

Age: 4-7.

Type: Picture Book.

Page Count: 32

Working Text:

Most kids would be a bit nervous to start a new school, but Oscar worried more than most. So much so that he tried to keep his worry all bottled up. And it worked for a while…  

But Oscars worry started to grow… Bigger… “what if I get lost?!” …and bigger… “What if the teachers are mean and give lots of homework?!” …and bigger until “What if the kids don’t like me?!” Oscar was so overwhelmed with worry he couldn’t leave his room. 

Desperate to escape his worry, Oscar distracted the worry and ran outside towards the park. He found the perfect spot to hide just next to the playground. Or so he thought… “What cha doing?” A voice said… Oscar shyly said he was scared and hiding from his worry. No need to be scared of your worry, you can do all kinds of things with it to make it smaller. When my worry gets too big, I like to draw or play games. When I worry, I like to dance and sing.   When I worry, I like to go outside and play with my dog. 

Oscar was feeling so much better that he didn’t notice his worry had found him but was no bigger than his hand. Oscar wasn’t scared by his worry anymore. Oscar didn’t need his bottle anymore.  didn’t get lost on his way to school, the teachers were nice, and Oscar made a few friends already. Oscar was okay with a little worry…  It’s always there and… Oscar isn’t the only one.