This is my children’s picture book that I wrote and illustrated for children that struggle with anxiety. I aimed to create a story for children that can also work as self-help for their anxiety. When illustrating this I really wanted it to be a picture book that adults can also enjoy, which is why I made the images so detailed. I was heavily inspired by the likes of Edward Gorey and John Tenniel as I find the way they illustrate to be so captivating. Making this book was a lot of fun for me as it allowed me to really push my illustration style and work with the atmosphere in my illustrations in a way that allowed me to not need colour to bring my illustrations to life.
The story is about a young boy who is up late worrying about school, so he goes to find his parents and they show him a candle and explain that when you light this candle the anti-worry pixie will be able to see it and will come in the night to take away his worries. We see this pixie come and take his worries and leave him a little note explaining how if he is ever worried again all he must do is light the candle and then the pixie will see and come to take his worries away again.
The idea of the candle is almost acting as a placebo effect for his worries, so when he sees the candle blown out in the morning he doesn’t need to worry anymore. I am hoping that when parents read this book to their children, they take this idea and put it into practice, lighting candles with their anxious children to help them. People with anxiety find all sorts of ways to calm their anxious mind, so something like lighting a candle could work, even if it is just a placebo effect.
Instagram – @a.millerstrations
BA (Hons) Illustration & Animation - Canterbury 
Katarzyna Kozuch | Illustration
