Wilf the Mighty Worrier Saves the World

Georgia Pritchett's Wilf the Mighty Worrier Saves the World is a laugh-out-loud story for 8 year olds about a boy who is scared of almost everything.

What happens

Wilf keeps a list. Stuffed animals. Moths. Wigs. Roller skates. Peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of his mouth. He's allergic to his own dandruff, and his best friend is a woodlouse called Stuart.

Then Alan arrives in the house next door. Alan is small and rich and very grumpy, and he's an evil lunatic (his words). He has an underground lair with a shark tank, a sulky robot who won't tidy the shed and a right-hand man called Kevin Phillips who is quite clearly a dog.

And Alan's big plan is to wipe out the entire planet.

So Wilf has to be brave. His method is brilliant. He draws the thing he's scared of. Then he draws the worst-case scenario (a stuffed duck in a polo neck holding a peanut butter sandwich). Then he makes a plan.

A net, three hand-knitted scarves and a Tupperware box later, he's hauling his baby sister Dot back out of Alan's window!

The narrator chats to you the whole way through. They get muddled about where the story starts, and have an argument with someone who keeps butting in. It's properly silly. Alan tries to name his giant weapon and every name he picks spells out something rude (PANTS is the politest). Kids will howl.

There's something kind underneath it all, though. Wilf's worry tips come from a real-sounding leaflet, and he never stops being scared. He just does the brave thing anyway, knees wobbling. If there's a worrier in your house, they'll probably see a bit of themselves in him.

What to read next

Wilf and Alan are at it again in Wilf the Mighty Worrier Battles a Pirate, where Alan decides the way to be truly feared is to become a pirate.