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Moon + Bird snaps up Helen Docherty’s new picturebook on sensory overload
Moon + Bird has bought Helen Docherty’s new picturebook exploring how to deal with sensory overload.
Commissioning editor Brittany Willis has acquired the award-winning author Helen Docherty’s new picture book Make It All Go Away, with Taylor Barron illustrating. The world all-languages deal was brokered with Millie van Grutten from RCW Literary Agency on behalf of Docherty; Barron was represented by Imogen Holmes from Astound.
Inspired by Docherty’s daughter’s experiences of sensory overload, the story ensures that children who also experience sensory overload can feel represented and neurotypical children can be introduced to why their friends and family sometimes get overwhelmed.
The book will be published globally on 30th September, supported by an “extensive” marketing and PR campaign. Moon + Bird, an imprint of Watkins Media Ltd, will release the book in the UK; Moon + Bird distributes their books in the US, Canada and outside the UK worldwide through Penguin Random House Publisher Services.
Willis shares: “Most books on this topic focus specifically on autism instead of sensory processing, so we love that Helen and Taylor’s book stands out in its relevancy to children across the neurodiversity spectrum rainbow."
Docherty said: “When my daughter experienced sensory overload as a child, she found it hard to articulate how she felt. A book like this would have made her feel seen and helped us to better support her. I hope it helps other children and families.”
Docherty is also the author of Someone Just Like You (Simon & Schuster), The Bee Who Loved Words (Penguin Random House), The Green Fingered Witch (HarperCollins), All the Ways I Love You (Alison Green Books) and Kerfuffle Bird (June 2025; OUP), as well as others, including collaborations with her husband, author-illustrator Thomas Docherty.
Barron is the illustrator of How Are You, Verity? (Magination Press), On the Bright Side (Anastasia Difino) and Your Life Matters (Bushel & Peck).
