Book Reviews

Do You Ever Get The Heebie Jeebies?
by Jill Reiling
(Falcon Books 2006)

It has been some fifteen years since I have seen young children in my psychotherapy/counseling practice. I have, however, continued to see the ravages of childhood abuse on the adults and young adults I meet with regularly. Quite often I hear a plaintive plea: "Where were the adults, an aunt, uncle, teacher, mother or father to protect or guide?" It is one of the saddest questions I have had to face and one for which I have had no satisfactory answer.

How do we protect our innocent, wide-eyed, curious children? How do we shield rather than scare our little ones? How do we keep them safe when they are out of our sight?

I have been on a search to find answers, tentative as they may be, to this question. Now with the help of my precocious, lively and dear sweet niece, Ella, I can offer at least one recommendation.

"Our recomnation, Tio" as Ella reminded ( "Tio" is family Spanish for Uncle): it's the" heebie jeebies".

Jill Reiling has written a marvelous, witty, playful children's book, Do You Ever Get The Heebie Jeebies?, that also contains a compassionate but serious message. This book, the winner of the Gradiva Award for outstanding psychoanalytic writing for children is smart, attractive, clever and simple in directing children to listen to their own feelings of uneasiness. Ella got the message immediately: "Oooh, I know the heebie jeebies. They freak me out. They make my tummy squishy so I look for mommy". Now nothing really bad has happened to Ella but she knows, or is beginning to know, what frightens her. She then asked, "Do you know about heebie jeebies, Tio?" Yes, I do Ella, sometimes more than I want to at times but this I kept to myself. What I did say was "Yes. Ella and I want you to be safe". "Me too, she answered," 'sides the pictures are cool". Indeed they are as illustrated by Alexander Juhasz.

This brief book should be in every elementary school library, church nursery and home with young children. It is a hard book to purchase although printed by Falcon Press. If you can' t get it let  me know. I'll make sure you receive a copy even if I pay for it myself. It is that special. "Right on, Tio" says Ella.