Big Thoughts: Catch and Release Your Worries: A picture book about managing emotions, feelings and worries, with hints and tips for children and parents. For ages 4-7

"This is a sensitive, beautifully illustrated book that helps children to reframe their worries, and helps them to cope when their thoughts can start to feel overwhelming. I’d recommend it for all parents." - Prof Sam Wass, Child Psychologist and Neuroscientist

"This book is a beautiful exploration of the all-too-common feelings of overwhelm and worry and acts as a sensitive guide to how young readers can cope when faced with their own very big thoughts … a sweet and supportive story… This is a gentle and hopeful read with a message of self-compassion." Inis Magazine, CBI

There are times when I don’t feel like myself. In these wobbly moments, my belly feels sick, my heart thumps, and sometimes I even want to cry. And that's because I'm worried. I call my worries … BIG THOUGHTS.

Everyone has worries: BIG THOUGHTS. These Big Thoughts can be invisible, but loud – nobody else can hear the racket they make inside your head. Big Thoughts can be about the future – things that haven't and won't ever even happen – or about the past. Big Thoughts can even be make-believe. That's the annoying thing about Big Thoughts … they don't always tell the truth.

In her distinctively fizzy voice, Laura Dockrill connects with her readers – making them feel completely seen and heard – and offers children very real coping strategies to calm their worried minds; strategies they can carry with them throughout their lives. Richly detailed and emotive illustrations from Ashling Lindsay make this a vital read to reassure the anxious minds of children of all ages.

• Publication date: 8 October 2026
• Page count: 32
• Dimensions: Height 292 mm; Width 217 mm; Thickness 5 mm
• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781529533002