Silly Billy

This is a story about Billy...and Billy has a little trouble, he's worried! In fact, he worries about practically everything and while his parents care deeply and constantly tell him it's all going to be fine...Billy still worries. It's not until he spends the night at his Grandmother's house that he finally finds someone who understands just how much he worries and how it keeps him up at night. As it turns out, Billy's grandma was a bit of a worrier too when she was a young girl in Guatemala. He gives him a set of colorful Guatemalan worry dolls and gives him instructions for using them at night to dream his worries away. At first this is quite successful and Billy, at long last, has a peaceful night sleep. Shortly after, Billy discovers a new worry...what about the dolls, they must be exhausted with all the worries he's feeding them. How will he solve this problem...and it turns out he does. Deftly making mini worry dolls as friends for his worry dolls...until he has a massive collection of them and feels satisfied that no one is lonely or worried. Heck, Billy even gives them away to family and friends to help them with their worries! The ending is quite a sweet little story and the art work is very bright, using Guatemalan patters and colors, which adds another layer of interest to the story. Overall, I think it has a positive message and is a compelling story for young readers up to about age 6 or so, older readers probably will not find the story engaging enough despite the wonderful artwork and simple message. Also, families who read this may find themselves with kids who want to make these dolls...not so bad, except that Billy makes hundreds of them and I think that small children may eventually drive parents batty with making these if they don't keep it to a reasonable set. Other than that, Silly Billy is a great story time book that I think kids can really appreciate and enjoy! I give it four stars and would recommend it for little worriers everywhere!

Anthony Browne's SILLY BILLY tells of Billy, who worries about everything - especially when he spends the night away from home. In fact, on a visit to Grandma's, Bill is so worried he can't sleep. Can Grandma help? This fine story embeds two points: about a Grandmother's loving skills and a boy's ability to conquer his fears - perfect choices for families facing struggles with separation anxiety in any form.