- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Comedy
The Overthinkers' Club: Happy List
Book 1 in The Overthinkers' ClubView the full series
A funny, warm-hearted diary-format story about a twelve-year-old champion overthinker. When Birdie and her best friend start a 'Happy List' to fight their anxiety, it helps – until 'make new friends' lands on the list and gives Birdie a whole new thing to worry about. Gentle wisdom wrapped in genuine laughs.
- Best for9–12
- FormatIllustrated
- Length352 pp
- Read aloud~5 hr
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
- Epistolary
Tone
- Funny
- Warm
- Heartwarming
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Twelve-year-old Birdie is brilliant at overthinking. She starts with a tiny worry, spirals into worst-case scenarios, then catastrophises until the whole thing is completely overwhelming. Her best friend Chloe is pretty good at it too, so together they hit on a plan: a Happy List of things that might cancel out the anxiety. At first it works – dancing, gratitude and a good night's sleep really do help. But when Chloe adds 'make new friends' to the list, Birdie decides that's just one more impossible thing to fret about. Told with warmth and a very witty diary-style voice, and illustrated throughout by Cecile Dormeau, this is a sharp, empathetic portrait of that awkward stretch between childhood and the teenage years. Nat Luurtsema navigates starting secondary school, blended families, self-image and shifting friendships with real comic flair and a lot of gentle wisdom about worry – a reassuring, funny read for any young overthinker.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Aimed at 9–12s (the publisher pitches it at 10+), reading independently. The funny, diary-style voice and short illustrated chapters carry reluctant readers, while its handling of anxiety and secondary-school worries speaks especially to tweens on the cusp of that transition.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 9–12
- Independent · 9–13
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Moderate
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: mental health.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Anxiety and worry
- Funny and relatable
- Tween life
Avoid if
- Wants action adventure
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Moving to secondary school
- Making friends
- New step parent or blended family
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Birdie's runaway worry-spirals are painfully, hilariously recognisable, and her Happy List gives readers something to try themselves. The funny diary voice and Cecile Dormeau's illustrations make a book about anxiety feel like chatting with a friend who really gets it.
- Being understood finally
- Friendship and belonging
Why parents love it
Luurtsema handles anxiety, changing friendships, blended families and self-image with genuine wit and empathy, never turning it into a lesson. It's reassuring for anxious tweens and a natural conversation-starter about worry and mental wellbeing.
- Shared humour
- Conversation starter
About the creators
About the creators.
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