The Umbrella Girl

The Umbrella Girl. Picture Book for Mental Health and Wellbeing of Kids - A Book About Courage and Dealing with Fears and Worries. A girl is surprised by a shower of rain, she gets wet and catches a cold. As a result, the girl decides to leave the house only with her umbrella. Soon she gets used to the protective umbrella. And, as safe as the umbrella girl feels under the umbrella, she sadly realizes that she cannot climb, swim or play with the umbrella in...
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The Umbrella Girl. Picture Book for Mental Health and Wellbeing of Kids - A Book About Courage and Dealing with Fears and Worries.

A girl is surprised by a shower of rain, she gets wet and catches a cold. As a result, the girl decides to leave the house only with her umbrella. Soon she gets used to the protective umbrella. And, as safe as the umbrella girl feels under the umbrella, she sadly realizes that she cannot climb, swim or play with the umbrella in her hand. But together with a helper, the girl practises step-by-step to dare once more without the umbrella again.

The story of the umbrella girl comes from the author's practical work as a psychotherapist and is already her second therapeutic children's book. It includes a picture story packaged in a child-friendly way and contains an exercise section at the end of the book. That section includes explanations around maintaining fear, avoidance tactics and safety-seeking behaviours, opportunities for self-reflection using age-appropriate questions, and two thought exercises.

However, the umbrella girl is not only suitable for children with anxiety disorders (such as generalized anxiety disorder and phobias), but also for anyone else who is afraid or worried about anything. And who is not at some point? The book addresses:

• aims at the mental well-being and mental health of kids based on practical work by therapists
• addresses anxiety and worry: it serves as a conversation-starter for a variety of topics;
• getting help: the umbrella is a wise, friendly helper as no one has to deal with their anxiety alone;
• avoidance and safety-seeking behaviours perpetuate fears and worries: this is explained in an age-appropriate way;
• loneliness and sadness: the consequences of fears are illustrated in a child-friendly way through various everyday examples;
• anxious elementary school children: it presents an encouraging story to read aloud.

The book is also suitable for children, adolescents and adults with generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia and other phobic disorders.

About the author: Miriam Prätsch is a psychologist and behavioural child and adolescent psychotherapist in Heidelberg. She loves creative work with young patients and is convinced that picture books are not just for children. Stories and metaphors help all people, both young and old, to better understand their own difficulties, their own resources, and themselves.

"The Umbrella Girl" is her second therapeutic book for children after the success of "My Monsters", a book about accepting difficult and unpleasant feelings.