Karla Clark

Fear and anxiety are difficult, overwhelming emotions for children. In order to help them grapple with such big feelings, this book focuses on bravery, not fear, and supports a growth mindset.

This gentle, quiet book presents three stories about times when young children are given opportunities to be brave: “Under the Covers” (about a thunderstorm), “Nervous Belly” (the first day of school), and “Got the Jitters” (a well-child visit to the doctor). In each story, a child show more protagonist faces a triggering situation and must decide how to handle their feelings. In the first story, a child presenting as Black makes the brave choice to check on and comfort a baby sister instead of going to their parents’ room during a thunderstorm, an act that is beneficial to both of them. In “Got the Jitters,” a kid with tan skin and straight, brown hair is terrified of receiving a shot. A nurse counsels his patient to “use your brain / to ease the pain!” and the reluctant patient imagines riding a bike. Once relaxed, the child receives the shot and gets to pick a sticker to recognize the feat. These and the other messages about bravery are relayed authentically and accessibly. The characters exemplify ways that children can draw on their own inner resources and effort to meet a challenge. The comforting, full-bleed illustrations are composed in warm colors that sync perfectly with the story, which is conveyed in rhyming couplets. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An insightful and sensitive introduction to what it means to be brave. (Picture book. 3-5) show less

Fear and anxiety are difficult, overwhelming emotions for children. In order to help them grapple with such big feelings, this book focuses on bravery, not fear, and supports a growth mindset.

This gentle, quiet book presents three stories about times when young children are given opportunities to be brave: “Under the Covers” (about a thunderstorm), “Nervous Belly” (the first day of school), and “Got the Jitters” (a well-child visit to the doctor). In each story, a child show more protagonist faces a triggering situation and must decide how to handle their feelings. In the first story, a child presenting as Black makes the brave choice to check on and comfort a baby sister instead of going to their parents’ room during a thunderstorm, an act that is beneficial to both of them. In “Got the Jitters,” a kid with tan skin and straight, brown hair is terrified of receiving a shot. A nurse counsels his patient to “use your brain / to ease the pain!” and the reluctant patient imagines riding a bike. Once relaxed, the child receives the shot and gets to pick a sticker to recognize the feat. These and the other messages about bravery are relayed authentically and accessibly. The characters exemplify ways that children can draw on their own inner resources and effort to meet a challenge. The comforting, full-bleed illustrations are composed in warm colors that sync perfectly with the story, which is conveyed in rhyming couplets. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An insightful and sensitive introduction to what it means to be brave. (Picture book. 3-5)

-Kirkus Review show less

A wonderful story about love, food and family.
A woman lives with her parents above their restaurant/bakery/shop. They work there together und the descriptions about the food are just wonderful.
This woman has been waiting for her former fiancé to come back to her for 18 years. She is the only one who is not married yet or has children.
But then one day she meets someone...
Both of them have a past with which they still have to cope, so there is the question: are they able to get past what show more happened to them (I don't want to tell too much) and become a couple? show less

A boy afraid of a thunderstorm ends up comforting his baby sister, a girl nervous about her first day of school makes a friend, and a boy learns how to distract himself from the sting of getting a shot at the doctor's office.