“What If….?” by Anthony Browne, “Mia’s Thumb” by Ljuba Stille, and “When Aunt Mattie Got Her Wings” by Petra Mathers are three new children’s books that deal with childhood concerns or problems.
“What If…?” by the British Children’s Laureate tackles the problem of childhood anxiety. Uncluttered, clear illustrations focus on Joe and his mom as they walk to a party he has been invited to. As they approach each house along the way, Joe voices his feelings….What if I don’t like the food, what if no one plays with me, what if I can’t play the games? Joe’s anxiety increases as they get closer to their destination, but Mom calms Joe as they walk along helping to ease his fears. Browne relates feelings that all children have and shows them that their fears are not as scary as they thought.
“Mia’s Thumb” deals with a common childhood problem: thumb sucking. Mia finds great comfort in sucking her thumb and no threats or bribes convinces her to stop. It is only when Grandma starts to suck her thumb that Mia comes to realize that thumb sucking can be embarrassing. Stille approaches the problem with a light hand that may cause giggling but also may help thumb suckers break this habit.
“When Aunt Mattie Got Her Wings” deals with death and dying. Granted the characters in this story by Petra Mathers are chickens but the emotional loss they feel is very real. Aunt Mattie is 99 years old and as one of the characters says, …her motor is all worn out.” As her niece Lottie is traveling to be with Aunt Mattie at City Hospital, Lottie remembers all the wonderful times she had with her aunt. As Mattie get weaker she tells Lottie that she is ready to go and can see a plane waiting at the gate.
The text discusses Aunt Mattie’s body being taken by someone from a funeral home, cremation, and scattering ashes. These might be new concepts for some readers, but handled in a simple way they might answer questions young children might have about what happens after death. Above all Lottie and her friend Herbie stress they want to remember Aunt Mattie and all the good times they had together.