Make it All Go Away by Helen Docherty

"Our senses make us feel alive!
But sometimes, mine can feel too much."

Loved the book !
Very informative. Help people, readers, children, adults(!) to learn and know why some of their peers may act a certain way (avoiding some noises, textures, foods, doing some things, not doing others, going some place and avoiding others).
Make it All Go Away teaches about stimming, sensory overload, different sensitivities, masking. It's a very accessible way of learning about what could bother some and how these sounds, touch, lights, smells could overwhelm people who experience sensory overload. As someone who does experience it, I felt seen and I wish I could have been given a book like this when I was a child !

"I've had as much as I can take.
I feel so tired. I need a break."

The book is so nice to read and going through its pages we can admire stunning colors and drawings. Illustrations are cute. The art style by Taylor Barron is beautiful. I loved the way the illustrator used color and how it's treated, creating beautiful pages. I appreciated the way typography is used to make points through the text, with different fonts and using bold lettering.

"Some days are easy, soft and calm;
But some days set off my alarm."

I definitely recommand Make it All Go Away for everyone to read. It's a good book to discover for people who deal with sensory overload themselves and for the ones who don't, to learn about it ! To know that it exists. It's great to introduce it to children at a young age. So they know it's a thing. Then it would create a better environment for everyone, being aware of what stims, masking and sensory overload, are. Less judgment, if none. A more inclusive and respectful society, school, place to be.

#MakeitAllGoAway #NetGalley

This book is about Melodie’s experience with sensory overload and how she copes with it. I think this is a great resource to read to children that may experience this to help with coping strategies and also for children who do not and may be able to help a friend that is going through sensory overload. Overall a cute book with good illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this! Drawings? Gorgeous. Message? Very important. The book is very unapologetic about dropping terms that we need to share and explain more: stims, sensory overload, masking... A lot of children would benefit from understanding that what they themselves or others around them feel have names and explanations, and of course their parents. Ever since I became a teacher I've realized that children are sometimes ashamed of talking about stims, and getting the topic out of sight isn't good for them, so I tried to share my own small experiences and saw a lot of my students become more comfortable with speaking out their needs. This book put a smile on me.

As someone who hates loud and excessive noise, I could sort of relate to this. I adored the bright illustrations and rhymes. A good read about sensory overload and perfect for kids.

I want to say thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me and my kids the privilege of being able to read this book together. I really appreciate it!

My kids really enjoyed this book, and I think my oldest son found a little of himself in this book, just by his body language. I think this book is best geared to the 1st-5th grade age rating based on the writing at least in Canada, it would also make a fantastic classroom resource book as well. As a picture book in itself, this was beautiful. The pictures are very well done and very engaging. They alone really showcase the way overstimulation can truly feel, well also showing kids how it might look to others from their perspective. The words are deep and poignant well still being easy for young kids to understand. It's message of showing it's okay to feel this way, how you can help yourself in the kindest ways, and covering so many basis' on times and things that could cause overstimulation were incredible! I've yet to find a book that shows this as well as this book has. I honestly can't wait until it releases so I can bring it home where I know it belongs.

Thank you so very much again for allowing us to snuggle up with this fantastic book we really appreciate it!

This is a book about our senses and how they can make you feel overstimulated. This book is brilliant to explain to people who may need help understanding how they or their children may be feeling (It made me feel validated at 30 about how I get over stimulated). The illustration was beautiful in this book. It flowed perfectly while reading. 10/10 all round for this book it will help a lot of people.

A kid goes out with their family and finds it all too much. The description of their sensory overload and how they help distract during snd calm after is really well done. There are examples of how it feels in your body to be in overload, shows stims that may help in the moment, as well as things they love that make them feel safe at home. Really great representation of neurodiversity that all kids could benefit from as well.

Personally, I read this with my 3 year old as they’ve been getting really overwhelmed while out and about lately and shutting down. They really identified with the overload and tried some of the stims from the book that made sense for them. When we were out somewhere loud next they covered their ears with a relieved smile and, after, we talked about how it helped with the tight feeling and that they knew their comfort place was waiting for them after. Thank you book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book comes out on September 30, 2025.

Books like this one are so important for kids to see themselves in and for neurotypical kids to read and learn about. This book is about a little girl with sensory issues who goes out to the market with her mom and struggles coping there. I like that author showed examples of sensory overload and taught strategies that could help. I also liked that the author used the words "stims," "mask," and "sensory overload" and included explanations of them at the end of the book.

It is a very inspiring book. Inside you will find a poetic way to explain sensory issues and overstimulation. The illustrations are beautiful and add to the story. I really enjoyed this short read

This book is absolutely an incredible gem, that gives so much informations for both adults and kids. I excperienced sensory overload throughout my whole life, and the way it is beautifully explained in here makes me wish I had such a book during my childhood.

The illustrations are stunning, they are rich of details, and I especially liked the represention of different characters, but still the whole didn't feel too much.

My only criticism is that some things could have been explained a bit more, like stims, if they are good or not. Overall this story is beautiful, it is easy to read and tries to explain something so difficult in such an easy and understandable tone. I would definitely read it to my own kids.

A delightful, thoughtful look at overstimulation, along with the soothing behaviors that can help curb it.

Anyone can feel overstimulated by things that don't bother someone else, and that is OK. This lovely rhyming illustrated book shows that sensory overload and stressors can be countered by simple personal physical coping mechanisms because self-stimulating blocks and distracts. And that is more than ok!
The illustrations by Taylor Barron are simple, perfect in bright colors, and definitely add to the prose.
Well suited for reading WITH someone any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library. Pub Date Sep 30, 2025
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected readers' proof on Thorium PDF from Moon + Bird | Moon & Bird via NetGalley. ***** review #bookbub #goodreads #storygraph #LibraryThing
#MakeitAllGoAway by @helendochertyauthor and @tbeardraws #NetGalley @moonandbirdbooks #childrensbookillustration #kidlit #ParentingTools @childrensbookcouncil #BooksForKids #comfortingbehaviors #ChildrensBooks #MindfulParenting #sensoryoverload #copingmechanisms
#bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk

This book is about a child experiencing sensory overload. It does give a few coping mechanisms but is more about what to look for and what causes it. This is an interesting book. As it takes everything to be a sensory overload. I know not all children are affected by this and this only contains to a certain segment of the population. It is an interesting book, but I do not have the experience to tell you how effective this is.

This was a wonderful read. As an adult who grew up struggling with sensory differences that I couldn’t name or explain, I felt so seen by this book! It is vividly illustrated and I loved the bright colours. The way the text was laid out was eye catching, and for my particular brand of neurodivergent brain I found it easy to process and read.

I feel like I’m somewhat of a broken record when reviewing books with a focus on neurodivergence, but I truly am just so glad books like this exist. Having access to media like this as a child would have made a lot of difference to me, and I’m glad the kids in my life are growing up in a world where books like this exist.

Also I have to say, the line ‘I know that you’ve got things to do but do you have to take me too’ is an evergreen neurodivergent kid mood 😂

Overall, a wonderful read that I will be recommending! Thank you to Moon and Bird and NetGalley for the ARC.

Make it All Go Away is a very informative picture book about a child who is sensitive to stimulation. As the parent of an Autistic/ADHD child, I could relate to the story, seeing Mom's facial expressions and concerns for her child during an outing. From lights and noises, anything could set a child off. This story helps others understand what sorts of things and events can be uncomfortable. The illustrations were so detailed and colorful, drawing the reader in to see all of the scenery. This is a great book to gift to families and friends who have a loved one with sensitivity disorders.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

One thing a classroom, or a store, or a concert, or even a park, have in common is that you will likely see a plethora of children upon entrance. You'll find children of all shapes, sizes, colors, and talents. You'll find children who are gifted and children who struggle. You'll find children who have five siblings and children who have no siblings. You'll see children who were adopted, fostered, or even homeless. And chances are fairly good that you won't be able to tell who is who.

You may notice a child who is a little different, though. They may have headphones on, or have their fingers in their ears. They may be flapping their hands, or humming, or tapping a foot, or twirling. And they may be the same person that is a gifted artist, a talented mathematician, or a basketball superstar. Unfortunately today, many people can't look past the stims. Helen Docherty's book, Make it All Go Away, is a wonderful way to explain that some children may act different than the norm, and yet, they are still children. Talented, kind, hardworking, they just need to interact with their world a little differently so that they may shine like the "normal children."

In Make it All Go Away, we follow a child through their day, noticing the five senses in full force. The sights, sounds, and smells while shopping with their parents may appear typical to most children. But for some, as we see in the delightfully illustrated story, they are overpowering. To compensate, we watch this child stim, or use movement or another adaptation in order to calm themselves in an overstimulating environment. This is a wonderful book to read with all children, no matter who they are, as a way to help open eyes to a world that is full of differences, and to note that those differences not only help us regulate the world, but also make children the special souls that they are.

Thanks a bunch Netgalley, Moon & Bitd publication and Helen Docherty for the arc of Make it All Go Away.
We all have five senses that help us to know our surroundings and survive. But sometimes these senses can feel uncomfortable. Through rhyming verses our protagonist teaches us about sensory overload, masking & stimming..
I guess all the illustrations were vibrant to highlight the heightened senses. I personally would have preferred a mixture of muted shade & vibrant shades to show the contrast of senses. The rhyming could have been better.
Otherwise this is a good book for children & adults to understand about the senses and how to deal with ones self or others sensory overloads.
Overall rating 3

This one is a book I truly wish I had when I was a child. It’s a compassionate and accessible story that captures what it feels like when the world becomes too much — something that children, especially those who are neurodivergent, will deeply relate to. Melodie's journey through overstimulating environments is told with gentle rhymes and clear emotional resonance. This makes it ideal tool for helping kids understand and name their feelings. As an adult, I found it equally powerful in helping me empathize with what young children may be experiencing but struggling to express. I have three godchildren and plan to gift each of them a copy.

The illustrations definitely elevate the story to another level, adding depth and emotional clarity through vivid, expressive artwork. This book is not only a perfect read for children aged 4–8 but, I think it’s a valuable resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers to better understand sensory overload and how to support children through it.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this incredible book.

A helpful look at sensory sensitivity that makes this book valuable K-12. The impact of sensory overload is hard for neurotypicals to understand. This artfully vibrant and sensitive book, helps give voice to the unspoken needs of neurodivergent people we share our world with.

A story about a young girl called Melodie, who on a day out experiences sensory overload.
This is such an informative read, I can see it being interactive with readers pointing out what makes Melodie feel overstimulated. It explores different terms such as masking and stimming, which can help kids understand themselves and others better. Having additional information at the back is great for grown-ups to help them be more educated so they can answer more questions children might have after the story. The story really makes you empathise with Melodie, destigmatising those who are neurodiverse. And the illustrations! They are so vibrant and beautiful!
Such a informative read, I think this is a must have, especially in schools and libraries!