Don't think about purple elephants by Susan Whelan
Ill. by Gwynneth Jones. Exisle Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781921966699
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. Subjects: Anxiety, Worry, Overcoming
Fear, Bedtime, Family Life, Psychology. Susan Whelan draws
from her own family experiences with a young daughter who was
anxious about bedtime, when all the worries of the day crowded in.
Their solution was to refocus the thinking, when told not to imagine
colourful animals like pink elephants, green meerkats or turquoise
giraffes, of course she would! Her worries started to disappear as
she imagined all the wonderful activities they could participate in
and the worries disappeared.
Sophie only worries sometimes, school is fun playing with her
friends and engaging in learning and she enjoys afternoons playing
games and drawing. Her weekends are filled with reading, gardening,
baking and watching the clouds pass by. At bedtime, when life
quietens down then the dark clouds of worry start to roll in. She
begins the what if scenarios and she can't settle down to sleep,
resulting in a very tired little girl the next day. Her loving
family try to help with warm milk and honey, sharing toys, but
nothing works. Her mother finally tells her 'go to bed, close your
eyes and DON'T think about purple elephants.
Purple elephants of all shapes and sizes take over, swirling in her
long blonde hair, sipping her milk, drink playing with her toys,
calming her fears. Sophie is not tired at school and even draws
purple elephants.
Gwynneth Jones' creative illustrations complement the narrative.
Bright, happy colours are used when Sophie is enjoying life,
however, when the worries creep in tones of black and grey take
over. The pivotal page shows Sophie and her friend swinging high in
the blue sky and soft white clouds, then as the worries creep in,
the sky darkens and she's suspended in space, tucked in her
bed. Her dark thoughts are shown with a comedic quality, no milk for
breakfast means Sophie leads a dairy cow into the kitchen ready for
her to begin milking. Her cereal bowl is the focus and is
highlighted in red. The pink elephants cavorting over the pages are
a delight, there's one sitting on the toilet sipping hot milk! Watch
for the cat's antics as well, is he in the washing machine and
stealing the giant apple?
This book is a fabulous resource, for supporting children's social
and emotional wellbeing, for health practitioners, schools,
kindergartens and for families to share.
Rhyllis Bignell