Anthony Browne (One Gorilla, How Do You Feel?) is a recent British Children's Laureate and has received many awards for his work, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000 for his lasting contribution to children's literature. In What If . . . ? Joe is going to his first big party at his friend Tom's house. His mother accompanies him since he lost the invitation with the exact address on it. Joe is anxious about himself and paranoid about how others at the celebration will treat him; he convinces himself he won't have a good time. But when they find the house, everything is just fine. He goes inside and now his mother begins to worry.

This is the kind of everyday experience that all human beings go through as telling themselves negative stories about what might happen nearly ruins their experiences. Both son and mother can reboot their attitudes by living in the present moment and not trying to psych out the future.