‘Tortu the Very Worried Tortoise’- updated, with anxiety-management visual aids!

In June 2020 we released a short story to help young  children who are worried and anxious because of all the sadness, restrictions and changes due to the Covid pandemic. The story, about a small worried tortoise and his friends,  has been downloaded in many countries across the world. In January 20201 there is good news about Covid vaccines, but we know that we still have some difficult months to get through before life can become more normal. There is increasing concern about the impact that Coronavirus and the many changes associated with it is having on our children’s mental health. Economic hardship is now an added source of stress for children in many families and communities. So we have updated the original story to reflect the situation in early 2021, with new pictures by an illustrator, based on the original drawings. The story pack comes with notes either for teachers/therapists, or for parents, and fun visual aids to make it easier for children to engage with the simple anxiety-management tools introduced in the story.

 This story gives caring adults a way to talk to children about what makes them feel worried or sad or cross, and teaches some simple ways to help children understand and manage their anxious feelings, and feel better.

Please note that the story must be read and used with the ‘notes’- or it does not make sense.

If you are on mobile and having trouble with the download you can find an alternate version here.