A young boy lies in his bed, where worries have crept up on him. His stomach has begun to hurt, as if a tiny T-Rex has started to stomp around inside.

The bigger his worries grow, the bouncier the T-Rex becomes – even doing twist and flips!

A young student stands alone with their worries swirling in their stomach. Someone said something mean and she’s not sure how to feel.

More worries bloom at school when words have been tossed around to make others feel mad or sad.

What can they do to make the T-Rex stop its Tummy terrors?

Maybe some fresh air with a walk outside? Telling someone they trust about the T-Rex?

‘Never feel you need to keep your worries to yourself.

Getting something off your chest, it really, really helps.’

There’s a T-Rex in my Tummy is a brightly coloured rhyming picture book for any young child with anxiety.

Many situations can upset children in their daily life. Changes in home or school life. Unkind words or exclusion at school. Or even seeing someone else upset or angry.

Getting a child to open up about their specific worries is often difficult. This simple but concise picture book is absolutely perfect to read to them – giving simple solutions they can do themselves, anywhere or anytime they feel that T-Rex stirring in their tummy.

The rhyming and coloured illustrations will capture their senses, and the text will connect with any anxiousness down deep.

A great read aloud picture book to read to young children to either counteract worries before they get too big, or tackle them once present.

Author – Kellie Dawson

Illustrator – Sarah Healey

Picture Book

(2023, WaiAko Books, NZ Author, NZ Illustrator, Worries, Fears, Anxiety, Change, Security, Friendship, Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Solutions, Peer Pressure, School)