The story of The Worry Tree Is Waiting was created a little bit at a time during bedtime routines over several years. Since I spent many nights as a child where I lay awake worrying about everything, it was important to me that my children learn to relax. Meditation had helped me, so I used guided imagery to help my daughter and son unwind after a busy day. To add variety to this ritual I began adding “trips” to places like a cloud, or a rainbow, or a bonfire dance with fairies. When I became a foster parent, I became familiar with the concept of the Worry Tree to help those children let go of their overwhelming problems. They needed a lot of support in doing this, so I began to incorporate the Worry Tree into the bedtime story.
The Worry Tree Is Waiting is a favorite version of that bedtime experience. I wrote it down so I could share it with my foster children. I put the text into booklets they could illustrate for themselves. Then I would send these books with them when they left so they could use this calming strategy wherever they were. I always saw this as a finished book, but I knew it was important to have the illustrations be very true to nature. If the colors were too bold, or looked too cartoon-ish, the story would lose its magic. I knew that publishers took complete control of the illustrations of books and I couldn't bear the possibility that the illustrations would not be what I knew they needed to be. I determined I would rather have it sit in a drawer of my desk than have it out in the world with the wrong illustrations. And so it sat in my desk for ten years until I met Sandy McDermott. As soon as I saw her artwork I knew she was the illustrator I had been waiting for to bring this story to life.
Next: A Kickstarter Project is Born
The Worry Tree Is Waiting is a favorite version of that bedtime experience. I wrote it down so I could share it with my foster children. I put the text into booklets they could illustrate for themselves. Then I would send these books with them when they left so they could use this calming strategy wherever they were. I always saw this as a finished book, but I knew it was important to have the illustrations be very true to nature. If the colors were too bold, or looked too cartoon-ish, the story would lose its magic. I knew that publishers took complete control of the illustrations of books and I couldn't bear the possibility that the illustrations would not be what I knew they needed to be. I determined I would rather have it sit in a drawer of my desk than have it out in the world with the wrong illustrations. And so it sat in my desk for ten years until I met Sandy McDermott. As soon as I saw her artwork I knew she was the illustrator I had been waiting for to bring this story to life.
Next: A Kickstarter Project is Born
