Absolutely No Worries!

Gr 1-3–Readers fond of poring obsessively over pictures and picking out small details will be over the moon at the profusion of tiny tools, gadgets, foodstuffs, animals, and general bric-a-brac that the illustrator piles into this cheery portrait of a child with an overactive imagination. Emma (pale skin, reddish hair) tries to be prepared for every eventuality, so when her mom asks her to go out and fetch the mail she conjures up any number of possible scenarios—it might be raining outside, for example, or she could get lost in a cave or at sea, encounter a mountain lion or a vampire, or be whisked away to France or another planet. Stuffing everything she thinks she might need into a backpack, including extra socks “because you can never have too many socks,” she ventures outside at last. It turns out to be a bright, sunny day. Well, she’s even prepared for that! Out comes the sunscreen, and after a few dabs she darts off happily toward the mailbox. Gale closes with a helpful preparatory list for others with similar anxieties that begins with “Take a deep breath,” includes calling on trusted adults at need, and ends with the three most reassuring words ever: “You’ve got this!”