Whimsy’s Heavy Things
Children’s Book
Whimsy’s Heavy Things is a book to help parents talk with their children about problems in life. The book is recommended for ages 4-6 but I think it could work with slightly older children as well. The book teaches children that they cannot deal with all their problems at once and that sometimes they may need the help of others. The book helps open up a discussion between parent and child when difficult things arise in their life that must be addressed.
The illustrations are beautifully simple. Whimsy is a little blonde girl who starts out with a long face and dark circles under her eyes. By the end of the book her face brightens with her smiling as she learns how to deal with her “heavy things” one at a time. As a parent reading the book you know the “heavy things” are any number of bad feelings and experiences that not only children but adults face daily. To the child reading and looking at the book, the “heavy things” are big black balls that Whimsy just could not get rid of all at once.
She first tries to literally sweep the problems under the rug but ends up tripping over them. She then tries tie them high up in a tree but the “heavy things” are too heavy and the branch and “heavy things” come crashing down on top of her. Her fourth attempt is tying the “heavy things” to a kite so that they may fly away but alas they are too heavy. She then attempts to put them in an umbrella boat which of course sinks and she ends stubbing her toe on when she swims. Her last resort is to try and just pretend they do not exist. However they just continued to weigh her down to the point of tears.
Whimsy then realizes she cannot deal with them all at once. She first turns to a friend with one of the “heavy things” and turns it into a game of marbles. She takes the next and makes a peach tree grow from it. The third she uses to build steps to get over a tall wall so that she may see beautiful things in the distance. As she accomplishes these things, you see Whimsy’s face brighten with the joy she begins to experience as her load lightens. The last “heavy thing” she chisels away at and keeps the smaller pieces as a reminder of everything she had gone through. Whimsy finally realized that the “heavy things are just light things in disguise.”
As adults most of us have already experienced many problems. We have also learned as Whimsy did that we cannot sweep them under the rug or pretend they do not exist. We have learned that our problems need to be addressed one at a time and sometimes with the help of friends and loved ones. I enjoyed reading the book to my children and plan on reading it a number of times. My sons also enjoyed listening to the book so it’s a win win situation. I would recommend this book to others. However, the book is a bit pricey but if you need a way to talk to you child about the “heavy things” in life it could be worth it.
“Whimsy’s Heavy Things” – Hard CoverWritten and Illustrations by Julie Kraulis
Published by Tundra Books, a division of Random House of Canada Ltd. Website: www.tundrabooks.com MSRP: $17.95
| Easy to Read | 5 |
| Quality of Illustrations | 5 |
| Appealed to both boys & girls | 5 |
| Kept my child(ren)’s interest |
5 |
| I Would Purchase For My Child | Yes |
| I would Purchase As A Gift | Yes |
| Overall Rating |
5 |
All ratings on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high).
Meet the Reviewer!
Rose Murphy-Hamlet is a former New York litigation attorney. She is now a stay at home mother to two boys 8 years old and 4 years old and a daughter ten months old. Rose lives in Fairfax with her children and husband but is originally from the Bronx.
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