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Full Text Reviews:

School Library Journal - 02/01/2016 PreS-Gr 2—Jack, a young boy who loves playing the trumpet, has been looking forward to his "first-ever concert," but he awakens on the morning of the program with a Worry that he cannot get rid of even when he plays his trumpet ("the one thing that always made him happy"). When it's time to leave for the event, the big ugly Worry has grown especially large, and Jack does not want to play in the concert. "I'm worried I'll make a mistake and you won't love me anymore!" he confides to his mom. Mom is reassuring. "I will still love you even if you play every note wrong," she tells him, and Jack passes that information on to all of his young friends whose Worries have followed them to the concert. Jack's Worry, which resembles a large, blue-gray dust bunny sitting on or next to him throughout the illustrations, quickly expands until it dwarfs the young boy, finally reaching elephantine size. Despite the child's ominous feelings about the concert, Zuppardi's pencil-drawn and brightly colored acrylic cartoon illustrations add an upbeat feeling to this simple story, which turns out well. VERDICT Zuppardi successfully describes a universal fear and provides a simple mind-set that even a preschooler can use to help overcome that fear.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/15/2016 Performing in a first musical concert can be a nerve-wracking experience, as Zuppardi has artfully visualized. Jack’s undisclosed “worry” first appears as a smallish blue blob the morning of his trumpet concert. He tries to hide, but the growing worry jumps on his bed, haunts his chair at breakfast, and trails him outside. When it’s time to go to the performance, the blob has become a huge black cloud filling the room, and Jack shouts, “I don’t want to go!” as his tears splatter in a messy and convincing shower. His worry? That he will make a mistake. Mom comforts him with reassuring words: “It’s about having fun . . . and I will still love you.” Braver now, Jack can encourage his friends, who, surprisingly, had worries, too! In a sunny conclusion, the concert goes well for all—not a blob in sight. The acrylic-and-pencil illustrations truly transmit the amorphous nature of worrying, using convincing facial and body language, followed by huge happy smiles portraying a joyful resolution. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.