High School Author Lila Shea Launches New Picture Book to Help Kids Cope with Anxiety

LITTLE LOLA’S BEAUTIFUL MESS, the latest children’s book from Palmetto Publishing, teaches kids how to manage feelings healthily instead of internalizing them.

Charleston, SC, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — An exciting new picture book has arrived, made especially for kids who struggle with anxiety and stress. Its author, Lila Shea, is a high school freshman who completed the story at the age of twelve. 

In Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess, Lola walks through life with a smile on her face, putting on a brave, carefree attitude. But Lola’s life has some major stresses, and at first she doesn’t realize how they’re affecting her. She worries about tests and homework, about doing well enough in ballet class, and to top it off, her parents are divorced—so Lola has to deal with all the struggles of being a kid while straddling two different homes.

This chock-full double life starts to take its toll, and Lola doesn’t know how to handle the anxiety that bubbles up inside her, affecting how she feels and even making it hard to sleep. But thanks to some great advice from her parents, Lola learns good coping strategies to help her manage her stress. 

Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess is about teaching our feelings not to hide, but to come out and be a part of our lives. Kids will learn how taking deep breaths, finding positive things to think about, and letting our feelings be what they are can help us ride the waves of anxiety and frustration without burying or internalizing those emotions. This delightful, self-empowering book is an excellent resource for building positivity and resilience.

With a beautiful story, playful rhyming, and adorable character design that makes the illustrations feel animated and exciting, this is a book that will make kids feel like they’re having a good talk with a friend—a talk that features all the silliness, laughter, and warmth that any good conversation has. This is accomplished in large part through the book’s young, relatable author: a writer who understands elementary-aged kids and has empathy that young readers will sense. Created with vision and compassion, Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess is a special book that will help children feel seen and understood—a perfect addition to your family bookshelf. 

Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit any of her social media platforms.

Instagram: Lila_Shea_

Lila Shea
Email: Lila1345@icloud.com

Available for interviews: Author, Lila Shea 

Attachment

• Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess

CONTACT: Leah Joseph
Palmetto Publishing
publicity@palmettopublishing.com