Victor, the Wolf with Worries

I thought that this was a lovely book and the illustrations are simply outstanding!

The story was easy to read and follow, I read the book with my 5 year old daughter, or rather she read the story to me with a little bit of help on a couple of words and she really enjoyed it.

The book gets the message home really well and we used the book after to talk about worries and school and other things and she said to me that she knows lots of people always feel the same but they never say it – so true!

The book was good as a conversation starter and will also be ideal for children to read and realise that they are not alone with worries, anxiety or fears and it will hopefully give those at a younger age the courage to talk about them – it is definitely a book that I think should be in every library and school

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!!

Everyone has worries, and Victor the Wolf is no different. He has worries about if he is brave enough, big enough, or fierce enough. He thinks he is alone in his worries, and talks to a friend. He soon learns that his friend worries about the same, and that everyone worries about things from time to time.

I think this book is great for children, especially those who may be struggling with some extra anxiety. The messages in this book are great - it is ok to talk to someone when you are worried about something, and everyone worries about things sometimes.

The illustrations in this book are very cute and in a style that I loved, as did my 4-year old. My child loved this book too, and I hope that it can help to ease any anxiety they may face.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Books for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who could resist a book with such a gorgeous front cover? We certainly couldn't! Written by the winner of the Kate Greenaway in 2009, Victor the wolf won our hearts before we even opened the front cover...

Victor is a little wolf with some BIG worries. In fact, he worries about nearly everything. But, when he is encouraged to share his worries with a friend, he finds that not only do his worries grow smaller, but that he begins to feel more like himself.

Catherine Rayner's storytelling is classic and traditional in style, which perfectly matches her incredible illustrations. Again, there have been a lot of recent picture books about dealing with worries but maybe not one as adorable as this. Even though the story is about wolves, known for being big, strong and fierce, it's gentle tone is packed full of advice for young readers (and adults too) who are struggling with worries - after all everyone worries, even those who seem big, strong and fierce. I particularly liked the author's handling of 'pretending' and the strong emphasis she places on friendship and talking. Another great text to use in the classroom or to prompt discussion about emotions.

Such a lovely picture book about how to deal with worries. Would definitely recommend to ELSAs or Nurture Practitioners to help children understand worries & how to cope with them.

A gorgeous picture book about a fox who is full of worries and learns to overcome them with the help of a friend.

This was an absolutely gorgeous book for young readers.

The tale of Victor sharing his worries with his friend was told gently and compassionately.

The illustrations are stunning and the dreamy, wistful style feels appropriate for the subject. I loved the added details of the tiny bugs that share the forest with the wolves.

Highly recommended.

A wolf named Victor is consumed by worries. He thinks he needs to be more brave, much bigger, or more fierce. But things change when he talks about his worries with his best friend, Pablo. Pablo helps Victor find strategies to manage his anxiety. As Victor's worries shrink, he begins to feel larger, braver, and fiercer from within. 

Victor, the Wolf with Worries encourages discussions on empathy, self-management, and understanding with your students. It opens a dialogue about mental well-being and how they are not alone in their worries, and there are practical ways to handle anxiety.

A wonderful book which is beautifully illustrated. The story of Victor shows how talking about worries and sharing them with someone can help ease them. The story explains this in simple terms which are easy for younger children to understand, including mindfulness techniques of imagining a worry in a bubble and blowing it away.
I also like the normalisation of everyone experiencing worries from time to time, and that talking about worries can stop them from getting bigger and even help make them smaller and easier to manage.
I work with children and young people within a mental health service, many of whom come with lots of ‘big worries’. This book will be good to read with a child within a therapy session or to give to parents/careers to read at home.
As the message about sharing worries with someone in the book is woven throughout the story it can act as an aid to explain what therapy is and introduce this as a method to help ease anxiety.
This book would also be helpful to parents to use within the home to support their child(ren) to share anything that may be causing them anxiety, providing a foundation for opening discussion about sharing worries and how this can help.

Are you a worrier?
I come from a long line of worries. My Grandad is the first worrier I can remember. I definitely inherited those genes and it can seem a lot when one worry sparks a whole chain of worries that you can see stretching to eternity. It’s hard to verbalise that chain of worries but this book does that so very beautifully and simply.

Victor The Wolf With Worries Tells the story of a little wolf pup who is a champion worrier. He has that uncanny ability to let his worries cascade into a flood of fear and thinks he is the only wolf who worries. Fortunately his friend Pablo shows him that things aren’t as scary as they seem and that sharing worries and tackling them together is a wonderful way to stop yourself from getting washed away with all your worries.

With Catherine Rayner’s signature breathtaking illustrations, this is the perfect book for any young child; ingraining the importance of sharing your worries and offering reassurance that worrying is a normal part of life. Another absolute stunner!

Thank you to MacMillan and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful book.

This is such a beautiful story - from concept to illustrations to the delivery of the messaging. I absolutely adored it!

Victor is a young wolf with so many worries that he can barely keep track of them. Not only does Victor worry about his own shortcomings, he even worries about how his actions might adversely affect others. For example, since Victor doesn't feel he is fierce enough for a wolf, if he tries to act fierce, might he actually end up frightening someone by accident?

With all his worries about being sufficiently big, brave and fierce, it is lucky that Victor has his friend Pablo to help him figure all of this out. And through the process of discussing his worries with his friend, Victor discovers any number of important things. Not least, that he is not the only one who worries about these things, and that there are simple ways of handling one's anxieties effectively.

This book was so touching and so well done, that I wanted to give Victor the Wolf a huge hug.

The illustrations really add to the quality of the storytelling experience, and I have no doubt this book will be a wonderful way to help children deal with their anxieties and questions about life. I just cannot recommend this story highly enough - it easily earns a five star rating from me!

This was an adorable little picture book. The illustrations alone are amazing, but the story itself is encouraging and sweet. Children with worries, big and small, are sure to relate to Victor.