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!

As an adult that suffers from sensory overload and stims a lot, this book handled the topic in a very digestible way which I am sure will teach kids.

An informative and affirming take on sensory sensitivities and stimming, perfect for sharing with young readers.

I think that this is a good book overall, but there are a few places that could use a bit of editing. There weren't *too many* things packed into this book, but some of them appeared to be half-baked, and made the book a little disjointed. For example, the author mentioned stims, but then moved onto the next thing quickly. As the reader, I felt that there was still more to learn about stims. However, there was one question that was never really answered: are stims effective or ineffective? It was recognized that they are considered distractions that are used in stressful situations, but are distractions helpful or unhelpful in this context? Adding that bit would clear up a lot of confusion and would allow the book to be more well-rounded.
That being said, though, there were other things that I enjoyed about this book, such as the topic, the language, and the visuals. The illustrator did a spectacular job conveyed mood and emotion on every page, which was a key part in making this book great. Lastly, the topic is highly important, especially to a younger audience, and the language that was used throughout the book was perfectly age-appropriate.

A beautiful book, with vibrant illustrations. A great way to open up discussions about stimming & neurodivergance. Easy to relate to everyday life & experience. Great to have the information at the back to use and discuss.

A children’s book about overstimulation? ? SO stinkin cute!! Great lessons and message for when everything’s just gets to be too much. The illustrations are so sweet too.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I wish we had this book when I was a child since I had to have all my clothes labels removed and couldn’t handle sudden loud noises before most people knew much about it. This is great for teaching children and parents alike about how children can experience sensory overload and how to manage it safely. There are some great safe stims suggested and I like that it tells adults not to stop safe stims as it can be detrimental to the child since I know of some adults who shout at their child for stimming. The illustrations are also great with them being clear and makes it easy to see the sensory trigger that is being mentioned at each point.

I received an ARC of this children's book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. The pictures are very cute and the story does a wonderful job of helping children understand sensory issues.

A cute book about feeling overwhelmed and ways to cope. I think communication should have been addressed, talking about the way you feel with someone.

A child tells us how the stimuli around her makes her feel in this picture book with amazing colours.
A much needed book that will be helpful to those with sensory challenges (I can totally see autistic children, those with ADHD, and other conditions which involve sensory overload will benefit from this book, be seen and understood) and their parents, families, friends, teachers and carers.
The diverse cast was a bonus.

Excellent theme and topic appropriate for children’s books. Sensory Overload is not spoken about too often. This books gives examples of the types of situations that causes one to have sensory overload, and it gives a suggestion or resolution to how the main character overcomes it.

Towards the end, although it has good resolutions to the “conflict” of the story, it appears to be more complicated than the beginning of the book. I feel like someone with shorter attention spans will not have as much patience to get through to the end with a powerful conclusion.

I would follow the sentence structure in the beginning to keep kids engaged from start to finish!

Other than that, I would totally recommend this, especially for those with children who suffer from sensory overload or just to bring the subject to attention for other kids!

A really solid book about overstimulation and sensory issues. This would be really good in a classroom. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read!

A picture book about overstimulation that, for me, just missed the mark. I feel like it focused much more on all the things the child didn't like, so many sensations described, and then followed it up with only 4 or so pages with helpful stims to do, or the things that the child DOES enjoy. It just felt very negative for no conducive reason.

In this book we follow Melodie through her bad day learn about all the things that overwhelm her senses. Readers will be able to empathize with her struggles of sensory overload. This is contrasted in the second part of the book where we see the strategies Melodie uses counters her overwhelmed senses. Readers, especially neurotypical readers may gain better understanding and empathy for their neurodivergent friends and classmates, while everyone can take away skills to help calm overwhelmed senses.