February 07, 2024 - Children’s author and illustrator Elizabeth James released her groundbreaking illustrated chapter book, Pippa Speaks Up!, on Jan. 9, 2024, addressing the epidemic of childhood anxiety head-on for young readers, ages 8-12.

This book is the heartwarming and empowering first installment of the Pippa Potter, President’s Daughter series, which uses the power of an exciting narrative of a girl whose mother has recently been elected President to introduce kids to invaluable mental-health support, starting with childhood anxiety.

As someone with lifelong anxiety, Ms. James wrote this book after watching her 7-year-old daughter start therapy for her anxiety, something she wished she could have had access to when she was growing up.

“I knew that more kids should be able to learn these valuable lessons,” she says. Especially given that, according to the CDC, more than 12 percent of all children are diagnosed with anxiety—but many go undiagnosed and without help. Despite the fact that anxiety is very treatable. That’s where Pippa Speaks Up! comes into play:

Interwoven with fascinating, kid-friendly research about the White House and presidency (made particularly timely given the 2024 presidential election), readers will follow Pippa’s journey as she navigates life in the White House while learning age-appropriate, anxiety-managing skills such as emotional awareness, deep breathing, mindfulness and positive affirmations.

Ms. James didn’t learn these kinds of tools until she was an adult with the help of multiple counselors. But she believes today’s children shouldn’t have to wait that long,

“Today’s kids face a lot of pressures and uncertainties in their lives,” Ms. James says, “so I’m thrilled to share this story and help equip them with tools they can use now so that they can thrive for years to come.”

Already, Pippa Speaks Up! has been heralded by mental-health professionals as “a powerful resource” and “a must read” that “[gives] kids great tools” that acts as “a wonderful bridge” for having deeper conversations about anxiety. They’re also calling Pippa a “hero” and “fun.”

Ms. James wrote the book off and on over the course of three years, completely rewriting the story in early 2023, and then teaching herself digital illustration to create more than 50 charming grayscale illustrations that bring Pippa’s story to life throughout the book.

To learn more about the book, please visit http://www.elizabethjameswrites.com/pippa-speaks-up

A media kit with high-res author and book cover images is available at https://bit.ly/pippamediakit