OCD can be a really debilitating condition for those who suffer from it - and it isn't helpful to those who have to live with someone suffering from it either! In this book, intended for use by a parent or carer with a child, should be bought rather than got from a library as there are pictures to be drawn and selections to be made, as well as things to write in. It is a workbook really, but with lots of humorous little black and white illustrations that will give children a giggle whilst doing the admittedly hard work that the book demands. The early chapters explain what OCD is, and they use metaphors to help the explanation along. In the first instance, this is comparing garbage pails (this is an American book) where one throws away things one doesn't want any more with a mind that also deletes the things it doesn't need any more. If one saves everything, the house and the mind get so cluttered that nothing works well. Then we get OCD compared to a child having a tantrum in a shop and mum giving in to his demand for candy. If one gives in, then OCD demands the same actions over and over again. These metaphors are useful in understanding how OCD works in the mind. Then we learn about the 'tricks' OCD can play - bringing on the fear that causes a fight or flight response, using 'maybe' to make us believe we had better do what it wants, making one feel that something isn't quite right. etc. After this we learn about the 'tools' that can help us make the right response to OCD's demands. While the book treats OCD as if it were a person, or in this case, a little round furry being, it also explains that it really is just a blip, a system error in the brain. When learning how to overcome the problem, we are told to think of a long stair with us at the bottom, and that each step must be taken slowly and carefully. We are given three tools to help us on our way. The first is to 'spy' out when we are actually being affected by OCD; the second is to 'talk back' to it; and the third is to show who is 'boss' by using six different choices. All of these are thoroughly discussed and made clear. There are a number of suggestions on how to cope and make things easier, and, altogether, this will be a most useful book for children struggling with the problem of OCD.