Here's an article on Raina and the crisis in anxiety in kids:

I am seeing a kind of epidemic of anxiety/stress/depression and so on in classrooms everywhere, which means life everywhere, way worse than when I began teaching decades ago. Just that year, thank goodness.Īnd now I am teaching a course on the teaching of writing, in the middle of a unit on writing visual essays, inviting them to write on any topic they want and more than a third of the class is writing about mental health issues, anxiety, depression. I also had panic attacks for about one year of my life in my late thirties when I was in grad school. For years in my twenties I suffered from colitis as did several other family members. Though it is intended to connect to others who have similar problems, this book made me uncomfortable and a little anxious throughout, since for many early years of my life I had stomach issues related in part to anxiety, partly genetic. A doctor diagnosed her as having irritable bowel syndrome, so she has some real sensitivities but they are exacerbated by stress. Yet another graphic novel for older children/middle grades by rock star graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier, and this one is maybe her most serious and personal, dealing with her lifelong (and continuing!) anxiety, phobias and panic attacks connected to her digestive system. If you like Telgemeier's other books you will probably enjoy this.Įisner 2020 winner Raina Telgemeier, Guts (Scholastic Graphix)!!! I'd liken it to something like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret but with less of a cohesive, structured storyline. The only reason I struggled with it is because it's not really about anything nor does it have the typical hallmarks of plot. There's not a cohesive storyline, and that probably won't bother most people, but for me it makes a book less enjoyable.Īs usual, Telgemeier makes books with wonderful illustrations that involve realistic kids going through realistic problems (ha ha ha, maybe with the exception of Ghosts). She ends up in therapy, which the book sweetly makes clear is not a big deal or something to be ashamed of. Raina starts to struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, having a very sensitive stomach, and dealing with a mean girl at school.

I liked this book, but it doesn't really have much of a plot.

Guts by raina