On the afternoon before he starts at a new school, something follows Silas home. It is small and gray as dust, and it carries a suitcase.Silas has packed his pencils twice. Tomorrow the corridors will be full of children who already know where they are going, and his stomach feels full of thick socks. When he asks the little creature what it is, the answer is simple: a Worry. And it is hungry for what-ifs.One question feeds it. Another makes it grow. By bedtime there are more Worries than pillows, and his room has become a hotel he never meant to open.
Grandma does not tell him to stop being silly. She brings toast, sits beside him, and offers a rule shorter than he expects: you may say hello to a Worry, you may even give it a name, but you do not have to feed it more what-ifs. True things can make a big feeling smaller. Asking for help is different from trying to know everything before it happens.
Please Do Not Feed the Worries is a warm, gentle chapter book for readers aged 8 to 12 about first-day nerves, the size of feelings, and learning the difference between naming a worry and letting it run the day. A story for children who pack their pencils twice, and for the grown-ups who meet them at the gate.
For Parents
This story offers children a clear, reassuring way to understand everyday worry. It helps young readers recognize the difference between naming a feeling and feeding it more what-ifs, and it shows that true, ordinary things—and the support of a trusted adult—can make large feelings feel more manageable. The gentle humor and familiar school setting make emotional skills accessible without pressure, while modeling that it is safe to ask for help and that a child does not have to carry every question alone. A supportive read for children facing new situations and for the parents who want them to know they can stay in charge of the day.
