The Thought Got Cleverer

Selma doesn't touch the door eight times any more. Everyone thinks she grew out of it.

Three years after Selma Counts to Eight. Selma is eleven. The thought worked out that touching doors was getting noticed, so it stopped asking for things you could see. Now it asks questions — are you sure you meant that nicely? read that sentence again — and you can answer those anywhere, including in the middle of maths with your hands flat on the desk. Then in October a thought arrives that is so horrible she cannot put it in this book, and the more monstrous the thought, the less you can tell anybody.

This is book 3 of six. The 5B Books pick up the six children from the 2B picture books three years on — same class, same six, eleven now. Each book is told in one child's own voice.

What is in the book

• Eight short chapters, written for readers aged 10–12
• Told in the first person — a child explaining herself, not an adult explaining a child
• A page for the grown-up on why intrusive thoughts are not desires, and why reassurance makes it worse
• Three questions to talk about afterwards

How it works

Works on its own, and works better if you know the picture book. OCD is named on the last page, for the adult — the story itself just tells you what it is like to carry the worst thoughts completely alone, and what happened in the car when she finally told her mum.

Instant download. EPUB for e-readers and tablets, PDF for everything else. Both files included.