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English Cymraeg

Geoffrey Gets the Jitters

by Nadia Shireen

Interest age: 4 to 5

Published by Puffin, 2023

  • Funny
  • Picture books

About this book

Geoffrey is not OK. He has a peculiar flutter in his tummy, and a series of What Ifs in his head. What if he lost Big Dave? What if Barbara doesn’t like him any more? What if dinosaurs with laser-eyes stomp all over him? Geoffrey has the jitters and they’re out of control. All he wants to do is hide, but you can’t hide from your jitters. How can Geoffrey get rid of them?

Told with humour and great empathy, this picture book from the author-illustrator of Barbara Throws a Wobbler is both funny and helpful. Luckily, the jitters suggest techniques to get rid of themselves, and these will be useful to the reader as well as poor Geoffrey. Children will appreciate that, while his worries might be laughable, Geoffrey himself is never laughed at. He is a relatable character, from the same world as Barbara, and illustrated in the same friendly, accessible way.

Showing how worries can rapidly escalate, and providing tips on how to cope, this would be useful for sparking conversations about feelings, and anxiety in particular.

About the author

Nadia Shireen enjoyed making homemade magazines and comics as a child. She studied law at university and then worked in magazine journalism; it was during this time that she started to draw again. After a lifetime of doodling in the sidelines, Nadia decided to pay some attention to drawing and in 2007 was accepted onto an MA course in children’s book illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Her debut book, Good Little Wolf, received a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award and won the UKLA Book Award. Nadia has been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. She lives in London.

Nadia Shireen is a former Writer in Residence for BookTrust

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