Children's Book World

About Jessica Whipple

Jessica Whipple is a writer for adults and children. She is the author of Enough Is . . . and I Think I Think a Lot. Her poetry has been published in print and online literary magazines. When she’s not tinkering with words, Jessica loves to create with anything else she can get her hands on. She has refinished antique dining chairs, crocheted sweaters, designed and built miniature mouse houses, and once hoarded a mess of zebra grass with the hopes of making a wreath. Jessica lives in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Visit her at authorjessicawhipple.com

How many friends, turns, clothes, toys, fashion accessories, books? How much of anything? The pictures follow one child as she learns the difference between wanting and needing and, in the end, feels the contentment that flows from being satisfied with what she has.

The text, meanwhile, frames a difficult idea in simple, spare language:

“Somewhere between a little and a lot, there is Enough. It might be hard to spot, but it’s always there.”

A young girl notices, and celebrates, her way of looking at and experiencing the world.

“I think. I think a lot. I think I think a lot. More than most other kids.” A young girl notices and wonders about the ways she and her classmates approach doing good work, caring about people’s feelings, and showing they’re grateful. She comes to accept herself just as she is and celebrates the differences between herself and her classmates. “I care a lot. Not more than other kids, just in my own way.”

Inspired by the author’s experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I Think I Think a Lot can be a starting point for discussions about overthinking or obsessive thought and about the many ways individuals see and experience the world. The neurodivergent main character allows readers to see themselves and others in the story and emphasizes self-acceptance in the face of comparison.

I Think I Think a Lot is the 2023 Foreword INDIES Bronze Award Winner, Picture Books, Early Reader.