Hattie Harmony

August 1, 2022
Actor Olsen and musician Arnett, this picture book’s married authorial team, introduce mindfulness practices for coping with classroom-related jitters via this series-launching adventure. Hattie, portrayed as a striped orange feline, is known to have “many tools up her sleeve, ” plus a “trusty Worry Detective Tool Belt,” to help her friends solve their worries. And on the first day of school at Wildwood Elementary, she’s working at full tilt, chasing away Pearl Peppercorn’s belly butterflies through centering movements, and easing Seymore Swiggletooth’s fears about being called on by giving him a squishy ball to squeeze, helping his “worried mind to relax.” Hattie even faces a fear of her own—a tall slide—before the day is done. Though passages can teeter toward the didactic, the text and an authors’ note offer concrete tools for mind and body that readers can use to manage worries. Valdez’s kinetic images capture a range of emotional energy, depicting animalian characters moving from concern and frenetic anxiety to carefree joy and calm. Ages 4–8.