Tummy Troubles

Tummy Troubles: Gretchen Gets a GRIP on Her Fear of Throwing Up

by Jaime Roche
Illustrated by Doruntina Beqiraj
Reading age: 4-8
Print length: 32 pages
Release date: June 6, 2023

Tummy Troubles is the story of Gretchen, who loves pizza day at school until a stomach bug causes an embarrassing scene for her in the cafeteria.

The story follows Gretchen as she navigates her way through her newly developed fear of vomiting. With the help of her school counselor and the acronym GRIP, Gretchen learns an extremely effective diaphragmatic breathing method that helps reduce the physiological symptoms associated with the fight or flight response, such as digestive distress. 

Although I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you NetGalley and Magination Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this story. 

I've got to be honest here: I have suffered with stomach pains associated with anxiety since I was in 6th grade. Not only that, I have  passed that lovely condition on to all three of my children. Needless to say, this book was basically screaming at me to read. 

Although Gretchen's anxiety is about throwing up again, the strategies that she is taught by the school counselor are ones that myself and my children can use. This is a book that I will for sure keep in mind for other kiddos that I hear about with the same problems. It would be an awesome addition to any school or public library. I know when I was in school and dealing with medical problems, my library was the first place I would look things up (you know, before there was google!) I love books like this that give kids tips and ways to handle things.