I am delighted to say that our children’s picture book ‘Arabella and the Worry Cloud‘ about a little girl with anxiety and how she manages her worries, is featured on Parents News UK website! Not only is it Children’s Mental Health Week but it is also Time to Talk day, where we share our stories about mental health.
Here’s a snippet of their thoughts:
‘Supporting children with anxiety, London-based author Eleanor Segall has drawn from her own childhood experiences to write Arabella and the Worry Cloud, a heartfelt picture book supporting children aged 5–8 who struggle with anxiety. Eleanor, who has lived with bipolar disorder since her diagnosis at age 16, aims to help young readers understand and manage their worries through relatable storytelling.
Arabella and the Worry Cloud introduces readers to Arabella, a seven-year-old girl who faces daily worries, from small tasks like putting on her socks to bigger fears about her cat or schoolwork. Her constant companion, the Worry Cloud, symbolises her anxious thoughts, teaching children that worries, like clouds, come and go.
Eleanor shares coping tools within the story, inspired by techniques that helped her manage her own anxiety. Through Arabella’s journey, children learn that even when caught in life’s “rainstorms,” the clouds will eventually clear.’
(image: E Segall/Shelley The Artist)
You can read the full article here. Thanks to all at Parents News UK!
Note: Arabella is written for 4-8 year olds. Every child is different and some children younger than 4 have enjoyed this book, but it is largely a Key Stage One book.
When I was a little girl, I had a lot of anxieties. As a self confessed empath and worrier, I could feel when something was wrong and sometimes this led to child anxiety. This included separation anxiety with symptoms such as nausea at school. Children who have anxiety need to feel safe, settled and above all, heard by parents/carers and the adults in their life at school.
I wrote Arabella and the Worry Cloud based on me as a young 7 year old girl who worried a lot. In the book, Arabella worries about her socks not fitting on her feet, losing her shoes in a muddy puddle, the rain soaking her and cold freezing her toes, the rainbow in the sky losing its colour, her cat Pickles getting lost and the plants in the garden dying, losing her homework, failing a test and being blown away by the wind. These worries are partly represented by a Worry Cloud who comes down to see her from the sky and threatens to rain on her with all her worries.
Eventually, Arabella realises that if she thinks jolly, happy, sunny thoughts in place of the worries, she can push the Worry Cloud away with the joyous light beams of positive thinking. Arabella unlocks happy memories with her family, visualising wonderful times with them and it gives her confidence to face the Worry Cloud head on, so he can go away and leave her in peace.
So many children will have their own version of the Worry Cloud. Here’s 5 reasons why you should read Arabella and the Worry Cloud with them:
It is a hopeful story– Arabella never loses sight of hope even when the Cloud tells her life is scary, saying ‘If I can see the sun and smell the passing rain, everything will be alright. The storm will not last forever’. This is the key message of our story- all thoughts will pass, you are safe and fear will not stay forever. This is particularly helpful for children who feel stuck with anxiety.
2. It can help children to process their emotions about worries safely, with help of parent or carer- The Worry Cloud represents Arabella’s thoughts and the book shows how Arabella sends him away with help of positive thinking and visualising happy memories. Some children may need further intervention from a team of professionals, but the book introduces worry/anxiety in such a way that it can be read to assist children when they worry (and distract them from negative thought patterns).
3. It is a positive, age appropriate book about child anxiety and worries with an uplifting message, filled with rhyming prose and beautiful, vibrant illustrations by renowned artist Shelley The Artist. Shelley combines old fashioned art with work on her ipad and the result is a beautiful array of illustrations your child will love.
4. It is a book about mental health in a child appropriate metaphor – As an author with a background in mental health writing and lived experience, I understand the needs of having books which discuss mental health issues in a safe and supportive way. As this book is aimed at 4-8 year olds, it slowly introduces worries some children may face at this age.
5. It has had some lovely reviews from children, parents and readers:
“I really enjoyed the book and really liked Arabella and I found the cat funny. I learnt to not worry about things and that we should only think happy things.” Matilda, aged 8
“A stunningly beautiful book with such important mental health and wellbeing messages. Suitable for primary school age children: I recommend adults read it too as it’s incredibly special and meaningful! Thank you for writing this and inspiring us all.” Mrs Davies, parent
“Arabella and the Worry Cloud conveys a wonderful message, is written with lovely imagery and is beautifully illustrated. The cloud is a really good way to portray anxiety – children will be able to relate to this and feel encouraged to overcome their worries with positive thinking like Arabella does.” Dr DF
“This book is perfect if you have a young child who is a bit anxious or worries easily as it’s relatable and puts anxiety in simple terms that a young child can easily understand.” Diary of Lydia
“Beautifully written and illustrated, this book will appeal to children and parents/guardians alike. More importantly, it’s going to help kids overcome their anxiety from an early age and understand that they are not alone. Highly recommended.” Britt Pfluger
“This is my favourite book ever ever ever. The words of my 4-year-old son who is a bit of a worrier himself! He had lots of questions and was very engaged throughout. Have already read it three times with him. Well done on a lovely debut kids’ book!” Joanna Gutkin, parent
To get your copy of Arabella and the Worry Cloud, go to Amazon here. I can’t wait for you to read it with your child/niece/nephew/grandchild and to share it with them and their friends too!
Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day. This awareness day is so important as the rate of suicides in the UK and globally is increasing. About 10 years ago, I devastatingly lost a family member I loved dearly to suicide 💔- mental health treatment, awareness and support is so important. Often, even with these, people are still dying. I know myself the power of medicines, therapy and kindness from loved ones.
One of the reasons I wrote my children’s picture book ‘Arabella and the Worry Cloud’ (illustrated by Shelley the Artist) is because I believe that mental health education and understanding our feelings from a young age is so important. My book focuses on teaching children the power of positive thinking to relieve anxiety. So maybe it can do a bit of good in the world! I definitely didn’t have a book like this as a child.
So, I am so thankful today for the No Panic charity team who have shared this blog about my book today.
(image: Arabella and the Worry Cloud by Shelley the Artist and Eleanor Segall)
Shelley the Artist and I are proud to reveal the cover to our first children’s book written by me, ‘Arabella and the Worry Cloud’.
Arabella is a little girl with lots of worries, represented by the Worry Cloud who comes to see her, taunts her and threatens to rain on her.
Can Arabella with the help of happy thoughts of her family and trusted cat Pickles push the Worry Cloud away? Or will he stay and rain on her forever as her worries grow?
As a little girl myself, I had lots of worries which led to anxiety and panic. Through our book, we aim to help children aged 5-7ish to process their emotions around worry, to talk about anxiety and to try and replace them with positive thoughts.
The book has beautiful illustrations by Shelley the Artist and we can’t wait to share the link to buy it as soon as its live! We will have an ebook and paperback version.
beurownlight.com 