The Worry Woos

What The Worry Woos does

The Worry Woos is a US-based children's social emotional learning (SEL) brand, founded in 2007 by creator Andi Green and operated through the legal entity Monsters In My Head LLC in New Jersey. Its core product is an award-winning series of children's storybooks featuring monster characters — Wince (worry), Nola (loneliness), Twitch (frustration), Zelly (envy), Rue (insecurity), Fuddle (confusion), and Squeek (innocence) — each personifying a specific emotion to help children ages 3-8 identify and express feelings. The company extends this IP into hardcover and softcover books, 11-inch plush toys that meet ASTM and Australian safety standards, digital downloads ($0.99-$2.99), video content (WooTube), and the Educators Portal digital platform that gates lesson plans, guidebooks, and video tutorials behind kit purchases.

Its business model combines direct-to-consumer e-commerce on worrywoos.com (with free US shipping over $75), Amazon marketplace listings for individual books and plush items, an Australian distribution partnership with Wonderful Me, and professional services revenue from in-person/virtual author visits and educator professional development workshops. Premium institutional kits anchor the revenue mix: The Ultimate WorryWoo SEL Kit retails at $325-$425 depending on edition, and the Mighty Monsters Group Counseling Kit (authored by Dr. Patricia Blackwell) retails at $320-$350. Go-to-market spans three primary segments — K-5 schools and educators, school counselors and mental health professionals (clinical), and parents/families — supported by content marketing (blog, social, free resources), email capture with a 10% first-order incentive, earned media (People, Parents Magazine, Today Show), and evidence-based credibility validated by peer-reviewed SEL outcome studies (significant improvements at p<0.01 on the SDQ and DEIQ instruments across 1,000+ Australian children and US pilots).

Name

The Worry Woos

Legal name

Monsters In My Head LLC

Website

https://worrywoos.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Worry Woos is a US children's brand that sells award-winning SEL books, plush toys, and evidence-based curricula — personifying emotions as monster characters — to K-5 schools, counselors, and parents of children ages 3-8 via direct e-commerce, Amazon, and Australian distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Educational Publishing

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Emotional Regulation Programs (EDAMAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Play-Based SEL & Executive Function Skill-Building Programs (EDACAOAB), Family & Community Support Services (Case Management, Referrals) (EDAJAIAK), Student Safety, Wellbeing & SEL Technology (Monitoring, Reporting) (EDAJAMAJ), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Behavioral Intervention Materials (PBIS, Social Skills) (EDAGAMAE)

Keywords

• Children's books
• Social emotional learning
• SEL curriculum
• Educational publishing
• Character merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Jersey City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Physical Products: Sale of children's books (hardcover and paperback), plush toys, and SEL kits. Products sold individually and in bundles through direct website and Amazon marketplace.
2. Digital Downloads: Sale of digital activity worksheets, coloring pages, mindfulness posters, and educational materials as downloadable PDFs ranging from $0.99 to $2.99.
3. Educators Portal Access: Online access to guidebooks, additional lesson plan books, all WorryWoo digital downloads, and video tutorials included with Ultimate Kit purchase or as subscription.
4. Workshops and Professional Development: Professional development sessions for educators including WorryWoo DEI 101, Anxiety Workshop, Frustration Busters, and Mindfulness workshops. Also WorryWoo Residencies with weekly teaching artist visits.
5. Author Visits: In-person and virtual author visits by Andi Green to schools and libraries, including readings, interactive discussions, live drawing demonstrations, and optional book signings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Worry Woos (operated by Monsters In My Head LLC) creates and sells a portfolio of children's books and plush toys built around monster characters that personify emotions such as worry, frustration, loneliness, envy, insecurity, confusion, and innocence. The company packages these characters into Social Emotional Learning (SEL) kits for schools and counseling settings, supported by an evidence-based curriculum co-written with child psychologists, and offers downloadable worksheets, professional development workshops, and author visits to schools and libraries.

Product overview

The Worry Woos is a children's emotional learning brand offering a portfolio of products centered on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). The core offering consists of award-winning children's storybooks featuring monster characters that embody emotions (worry, frustration, loneliness, envy, insecurity, confusion, innocence), available in Hardcover and SoftCover editions. These books are sold individually, in book sets, and bundled with plush toys. The company provides comprehensive SEL kits for educators (The Ultimate WorryWoo SEL Kit, Mighty Monsters Group Counseling Kit) that include curriculum books, lesson plans, plush toys, and access to the Educators Portal digital platform. Parent resources include companion books by Dr. John Irvine. Digital products include downloadable activity books, worksheets, coloring pages, and video content (WooTube). Services include professional development workshops and author visits. The ecosystem is anchored by an evidence-based Developing Social & Emotional Intelligence curriculum co-written with child psychologists, supported by free resources for classrooms and homes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mighty Monsters Group Counseling Kit: A counseling curriculum kit created by Behavioral Psychologist Patricia Blackwell, Ph.D., supporting counselors and mental health professionals in implementing WorryWoos into group settings.
• WorryWoo DEI Curriculum
• Developing Emotional Intelligence Program

Products and services

• WorryWoo Books Award-winning series of children's storybooks featuring monster characters that each embody a specific emotion (worry, frustration, loneliness, envy, insecurity, confusion, innocence), available in Hardcover and SoftCover editions for children ages 3-8.
• WorryWoo Plush Toys Full-sized plush toy characters (approximately 11 inches) representing each WorryWoo emotion, plus a WorryBug plush. Meet ASTM and AUS safety standards; sold individually through Amazon and bundled in kits.
• WorryWoo Digital Downloads

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant improvement in pro-social behaviors (p<0.01) on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Wonderful Me (Australia)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustralian distributor for WorryWoos products. Customers in Australia are directed to wonderfulme.com.au to order WorryWoos products, indicating a distribution partnership for the Australian market.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RethinkEd: K-12 social-emotional learning and mental health platform serving schools with curriculum, professional development, and assessment. Comparable as a comprehensive school-channel SEL provider.
• Conscious Discipline: SEL and classroom management program provider serving early childhood and elementary educators. Comparable as an evidence-based SEL program sold to schools with curriculum kits and professional development offerings.
• Committee for Children: Developer of the widely-adopted Second Step SEL curriculum for K-8 schools. Directly comparable as a research-validated, classroom-implemented SEL program sold to districts and educators with similar evidence-based positioning.
• Aperture Education: SEL measurement and curriculum provider for schools and districts, including the DESSA suite. Comparable as an evidence-based SEL platform with school-channel distribution and educator resources.
• Barefoot Books: Independent children's book publisher with character-led storytelling, plush, and educator resources. Closely comparable as a character-driven children's content company selling directly to educators and parents.
• Move This World: Provider of PreK-12 SEL curriculum, professional development, and resources to schools and districts. Directly comparable as a school-channel SEL content company competing for the same district procurement budgets.

Emerging players

• Panorama Education: K-12 student success platform offering SEL surveys, curriculum, and intervention tools to districts. Adjacent competitor pursuing similar institutional SEL procurement dollars with a more analytics-driven offering.

Broad incumbents

• Highlights for Children: Long-established children's content brand spanning books, magazines, and educational products. Comparable as a broader children's content publisher with educator and parent channels, though with much greater scale.
• Scholastic: Largest U.S. children's book publisher and school book fair operator with deep K-12 institutional reach. Comparable as a children's book publisher serving schools and parents, though at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Sesame Workshop: Producer of Sesame Street and related children's educational content with strong emotional-learning curriculum. Comparable as a character-driven SEL media property with school-facing curriculum and research backing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/worrywoos
• Facebookfacebook.com/worrywoos
• Instagraminstagram.com/theworrywoos
• Xx.com/worrywoos

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Worry Woos