Kit and the Missing Notebook: A Book about Calming Anxiety

Join Kit as she learns a lesson about overcoming anxiety and makes some new friends—and some delicious soup!—along the way. As kids get to know this little kangaroo with big feelings, they will discover how they can manage their own stress and new experiences in a healthy, positive manner.

When Kit’s family moves to Cozy Lane, she feels anxious. Exploring the neighborhood with her notebook where she writes everything down makes her feel a little better. But when her notebook goes missing, not even her new hamster friends can help her calm down. Then Mrs. G., the guinea pig next door, has an idea. They all make soup together, and as Kit breathes in the smell and breathes out to cool it, she finds herself feeling calmer. She even realizes her notebook isn’t as lost as she thought!

Kit and the Missing Notebook uses a fun and relatable character to teach children ages 4-8:

• What anxiety is and how to identify it in their bodies.
• A simple breathing exercise—smell the soup, cool the soup—that promotes mental wellness and can help when they are feeling overwhelmed.
• How to use their senses—sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste—to find themselves again.

For parents and educators, Kit and the Missing Notebook also includes an author’s note with information about anxiety, managing emotions with kids, and a delicious soup recipe!

Chris and Lindsey Wheeler are best friends who have been married since 2004 and are parents to Eliana the one and only. They refer to their trio as the Triangle Family, since triangles are the strongest shape. They seek to find laughter and beauty in pain, a perspective that enables them to choose joy in the daily grief of chronic disease, mental illness, adoption trauma, and disability. They live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Carmen Saldaña is an illustrator who lives in Gijon, a little rainy city in the north of Spain. After studying art, she started her career as a graphic designer in ad agencies, and currently works as a freelancer, focusing on the field she enjoys most: children’s book illustration. She loves furry animals, birds, bugs, leaves, and everything related to nature, her main source of inspiration.