Jack’s Worry

Zuppardi (The Nowhere Box) gives physical presence to a boy’s nervousness and fear, imagining his “Worry” as a gray-blue blob that he just can’t shake. Jack’s anxiety is centered around his first music concert at school, and his Worry grows larger and more ominous until he confesses his fear to his mother in an anguished burst of emotion: “I’m worried I’ll make a mistake and you won’t love me anymore!” After an encouraging reminder that the “concert isn’t about playing perfectly. It’s about having fun,” Jack is able to shrink his worry, share his mother’s advice with his nervous classmates, and play the trumpet with abandon. Zuppardi’s scribbly pencils and expressive bursts of paint readily capture the big, intense emotions Jack is feeling. Ages 4–8. [em]Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Apr.) [/em]