Things That Go Bump...: Tiny T. Rex And The Very Dark Dark by Jonathan Stutzman

WHEN I AM INSIDE, THE DARK DOESN'T SEEM SO DARK.

OUTSIDE THE DARK IS VERY VERY DARK. THERE ARE NO NIGHTY LIGHTS TO TURN ON.

AND WHEN THERE ARE NO NIGHTY LIGHTS TO TURN ON, THE GRUMBLES AND NOMBIES COME OUT.

Tiny T. Rex and his brother Pointy are new to this sleeping out business. Mom had told them that if they were brave, they would find a light out there somewhere, but they are not so sure about that.

Is there light inside the stomachs of the Crawly-Creeps? Yikes! They need a plan.

While Dad in his chair is nodding over his newspaper, they sneak back inside and get a string of Christmas lights out of the closet. They hustle back out, put up a tablecloth tent, hang up lights all over the backyard trees, and huddle together, hoping their PLAN works.

WE HAVE MADE A SUPER-BRIGHT NIGHTY LIGHT!

But even Dad's snoring and Mom's crunching a celery snack inside sound like the Crawly Creeps and the Grumbles and Nombies coming after them. Are they brave enough to huddle together and look around for those lights Mom promised?

And the two little dino brothers discover that Mom was right. The stars always come out and the moon always rises, in Jonathan Stutzman's not-too-scary scary story about the things that don't quite go bump in the night, Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark: (Read-Aloud Family Books, Dinosaurs Kids Book About Fear of Darkness) (Chronicle Books, 2020).

Author Jonathan Stutzman's text builds tension cleverly as illustrator Jay Fleck's adorable T-Rex brothers, Pointy and the wee Tiny T., tough it out and fight the fright in their first night sleepout, and young readers will be find reassurance as well.

Share this one during the scary season with Stutzman and Fleck's just published Tiny T. Rex and the Tricks of Treating (Chronicle Books, 2021).

A Little Help from Her Friends! Nothing Scares Spider! by S. Marendaz

SPIDER IS PLANNING A BIG ADVENTURE!

SHE WAS GOING TO BE AN EXPLORER.

"I AM GOING TO SEE THE WHOLE WIDE YARD!"

Her friends, Caterpillar, Bumblebee, and Ladybug, who lack her bite and web-weaving powers, are frightened for her.

"WHAT ABOUT FEARSOME FISH, HUNGRY BIRDS, AND THE CLEVER CAT???" THEY ASK.

Spider chuckles at her feckless friends. Spiders don't fear anything! she boasts.

And what about THEM, alone without Spider's defensive powers?

Spider expansively promises to leave a lifeline of web behind her for fearful friends to tug on if they need her powers.

BUT ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES!" SPIDER INSISTS.

Freedom at last, thinks Spider, making it to the tall trees, oblivious to the peckish redbird with an open beak about to dive down and have her for lunch. But suddenly there's TWANG and a tug on the web from Ladybug, who has detected an interloper in her flower. Dragged back, Spider grumpily points out the it's only Bumblebee backing into the bloom. Unaware of the bird, Spider hustles back to cool half of her feet in the pond, where a hungry Fearsome Fish is rising to the surface about to suck her in.

"TWANG!"

Back snaps Spider to where Caterpillar is cowering from something big and frightful behind him.

IT'S YOUR OWN SHADOW," SHOUTS SPIDER. "THIS WEB IS FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY!"

But when Spider returns to continue her adventure, she finds herself finally facing FEARSOME FROG--alone.

If ever Spider has needed a few good friends, it's now, in S. Marendaz's Nothing Scares Spider! (Tiger Tales, 2021), as the tables are turned in this funny story that proves that a friend in need is a friend indeed! And Spider learns that perhaps adventuring is better done with a retinue of those friends you can trust. Kids will enjoy seeing Carly Gledhill's hapless comic critters discovering their courage when they come to the rescue of their friend. It's one for all and all for one, in this story of fear and friendship.

Frightful First-Day Little Ghoul Goes to School by Jeff Czekaj

TOMORROW WAS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, AND LITTLE GHOUL WAS NERVOUS.

"DON'T WORRY, MY LITTLE MAGGOT," SAYS HER MOTHER.

Mom promises that everything is going to go perfectly ghastly tomorrow. Little Ghoul reassured herself by downing a package of creepy crispies and brushed her teeth with rotten onion toothpaste, and her mom gave her a great big slobber and tenderly tucked her in.

But the next day dawned dreadfully. Instead of the cold and rainy day she's hoped for, it was disgustingly sunny. Instead of a decrepit old clunker of a bus, it's your standard cheery yellow school bus. The driver had an unpleasantly happy smile and the kids are boring normal children.

Little Ghoul is met in front of the school by a perfectly friendly principal who shows her to a putridly pink classroom and a standard-issue middle-aged teacher with another unpleasant big smile. At least she has lunch to look forward to. Her mom is sure to have packed her favorite brown-maggot and brown banana peel sandwich. Her stomach lurches when she sees a PB and J sandwich and cookie instead.

At least art class gives her a chance to rip up paper and splatter paint all over it. But her heart sinks when the teacher praises her dynamic work and posts it on the display board. The librarian tells the class that each student may check out a book to take home a book, but it's hard for Little Ghoul to pick one. Which is worst--Cute Babies, Happy Kittens, Adorable Squirrels??? She chooses the least abominable title, The Frightful Guest by Edward Scary.

To top off this perfectly dismal day, a boy approaches to shake hands.

"HI!" HE SMILED. "MY NAME IS BEN!"

"LET'S BE FRIENDS!"

"FRIENDS? FRIENDS!" "GHOULS DON'T HAVE FRIENDS!"

Suddenly, Little Ghoul WAKES UP!

It was all a NIGHTMARE! Maybe Little Ghoul's real first day will go better, that is, more ghastly!

Today is cold and rainy with just the right touch of thunder! Things are looking up already!

And this first day happily goes absolutely frightfully. She learns slime-oozing and her lunch is perfectly repulsive! All's well that ends abominably, in Jeff Czeka's Little Ghoul Goes to School (Balzer and Bray/HarperCollins, 2021). The more savvy third graders may even recognize the allusions to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the much-loved master of creepy middle grade mysteries, Edward Gorey. "... Sure to scare away the first-day-of-school nerves,” says School Library Journal.

Post Office Phobia? I Do Not Like Yolanda! by Zoey Abbott

Bianca loves all things epistolary!

She loves decorating her envelopes with clever colored illustrations. She loves stamps (and even collects them). She loves to write letters to her Grandma in Washington, D.C., her globe-trotting Grandma making port somewhere, and her several far-flung pen pals, even thought writing letters is not easy.

YOU'VE GOT TO SPELL WORDS CORRECTLY SO SOMEONE ELSE CAN READ THEM.

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE INTERESTING THINGS TO SAY, OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT JUST BORE THEIR PANTS OFF.

And then there's the post office. Bianca likes the post office and all the many kinds of stamps. But... she's terrified of having to be in Yolanda's line.

THAT LADY GIVES ME NIGHTMARES!

One day Bianca spends an hour decorating the front of her envelop with a illustration, but when Yolanda weighs the letter, she slaps an ugly postage label right across Bianca's colorful drawing. Her bright red pointy nails scratch! And the next time Bianca tries to buy stamps from Yolanda, she flinches, dodging those nails, losing a nickel and leaving without enough change to buy her stamps.

But one day is a five-letter day, and Bianca resolves that Yolanda is not going to scare her. But when she arrives at the post office, guess who is the only clerk available? Bianca screws her courage up to the sticking point and approaches the counter bravely.

Quickly she blurts her request:

"I'LL TAKE THREE INTERNATIONALS AND TWO DOMESTIC STAMPS... AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?"

Yolanda looks surprised and bends forward ....

And smiles a big friendly smile...

"WELL, I SERVED ONE OF THE MOST DELIGHTFUL MEALS ANYONE EVER PREPARED..."

"TELL ME MORE!" I SAY . . . .

All's well that ends with sharing menus, in Zoe Abbott's just published I Do Not Like Yolanda (Tundra Books, 2021), as Bianca learns that she and Yolanda have some things in common, mail, stamps, menus, and recipes. In this charmingly amusing story of fears and friendships, author illustrator Zoey Abbott shares a simple lesson of reconsidering first impressions. Abbott's detailed illustrations of her chatty epistolary heroine and her supposed nemesis are full of humorous touches that young readers will love. Says School Library Journal, “A book that will inspire readers to find their own pen pals, a good book, and a new friend.”

The Icky Bigsy Spider! Stink and the Scary Hairy Spider by Megan McDonald

Stink was on a roll, ... in the zone..., cuckoo-crazy for origami. He folded junk mail, Post-it notes, bubble-gum wrapers. Easy Peasy!

Stink folded a dollar bill into an origami jumping frog and took it outside to the corner of the backyard for its maiden hop test. Wow!

Where'd it go? The test is too successful! He can't find the frog--which is also his lunch money for the next day. Stink searches through the weeds in the corner until--YIKES! WHAT'S THAT?

Stink saw something pink. It was several pink things..., big hairy legs...., joined to a big hairy head with a buzillion eyes!

It's giant, hairy tarantula with pink toes!

Stink's usual spider phobia turns into full-blown terror. He has to swallow his pride and ask his sarcastic sister Judy Moody for help finding his lunch money. But Judy can't find his dollar OR the giant spider. Stink calls on his friend Webster, who loves spiders. He's not called WEB-ster for nothin' and he pronounces Stink ARACHNOPHOBIC!

And when Stink and Webster meet a girl who is actually searching for her lost pink-toed tarantula, Webster gallantly offers their services in finding her pet, requiring Stink to undergo Web's guaranteed psychological cure for spider phobia, exposure therapy, by way of eight-legged origami tarantulas creeping up his arm.

Facing fear is not unknown to Stink, but in Megan McDonald's latest in her best-selling series, Stink and the Hairy, Scary Spider (Candlewick Press, 2020), Stink's cognitive behavior therapy is a complete success. Plenty of easy reading adventures with lots of laughs along the way make this one a fine addition to author McDonald's very successful Judy Moody and Stink favorites for kids just venturing into novel-reading. With laugh-out-loud episodes and filled with page-turning fun with drawings by ace illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, this one a worthy entry in McDonald's standout series. Says School Library Journal, "Short chapters delineate the story and provide an opportunity for Reynolds to showcase his marvelous and goofy illustrations."

Going First Class? The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

We're going on a first class trip tomorrow. In my history book we learned a lot about some famous class trips. Louis and Clark went across America. They couldn't find one motel open! I wonder where we'll go and who we'll see.

The kids phone each other and try to predict. They all have different ideas.

Freddie always looks on the bright side. He holds out for Pizza Mutt. He's an optometrist. Eric always looks on the dark side. He's a messymist.

And then there's the story about the class that had a picnic lunch on the slopes of a volcano. All anyone ever found of them was twelve toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

 The kid is worried. What horrors will Mean Mrs. Green have in store for them? It's a night of nightmarish dreams until the alarm goes off at 5:30 A.M. He so tired he brushes his teeth with shoe polish and pours himself a bowl of dishwashing powder. He staggers out to wait for the school bus. It's pitch black outside, but finally he sees the headlights. When he climbs aboard, all the kids are staring straight ahead as if they are scared stiff.

But their bus driver Mr. Fenderbender delivers them all to school after only four collisions, and Mean Mrs. Green climbs on the CLASS TRIP bus, which takes them to a remote little airport where they board the historic First Passenger Plane Ever, built by the WRONG BROTHERS. Mrs. Green hands out parachutes. Mr. Fenderbender and Mrs Green try to figure out how to start the plane. Eric, the class clown announces the in-flight entertainment.

"We'll be seeing a bunch of selected shorts." He pulls out his underwear. Gross!

It's a day at Dizzyland, all right. They parachute into a jungle full of wild beasts, all hungry, it seems, for tenderloin of kid! There're alligator-filled rivers,  quicksand, and a desert and nothing to drink and the kid's head starts to swim but there's no swimming pool... and... and... then...

I start seeing things. It's a school bus that says CLASS TRIP. Mrs. Green opens the door and the kids inside are all wide awake and excited... We're going to the Zoo!

All that first field trip was just a dream, the product of poor sleep, in Mike Thaler's kickoff title in his series, The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures, No. 1) (Scholastic Press). The sequel to his first book, The Teacher from the Black Lagoon, this one is an extravaganza of school-themed silliness which begins a long series of killer-diller chapter books for middle readers, illustrated in the wild comic style of Jared Lee, famous for his equally over-the-top illustrations for Lucille Colandro's hilarious holiday and seasonal tales beginning with There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!

 If field trips with Ms. Frizzle on the Magic School Bus are too tame, it's time for Mr. Fenderbender, Mean Mrs. Green, and the Black Lagoon kids to take over the scene.

Monster Anxiety! Bad Kitty Scaredy Cat by Nick Bruel

Back in her first summer, when Bad Kitty was a kitten, she was audacious... brave...courageous... dauntless, even... fearless.. and kittenishly loopy, and muddled (but never mind those lapses). She was one tough kitty, a take-on-the-world kitty. Until... HALLOWEEN. It began with the doorbell

Ding Dong! Out of the darkness and into her doorway appeared the most horrible and frightening creatures Kitty had ever seen! TRICK OR TREAT! She saw... an Awful Alien, a Bizarre Bigfoot and a Creepy Clown....

On and on they came out of the night--ectoplasms, Frankensteins, even Uncle Murray borrowing candy, a parade of horrors, right down to a yeti and a zombie, made even more horrible by their relentlessly abnormal alphabetical order Bad Kitty freaked out! Gone was the carefree, casual, ever plucky Kitty!

She was a very, very scared, SCARED, SCARED little kitty.

Is the Bold and Brazen Bad Kitty gone forever? Or will Bad Kitty rally to Clobber the Clown, Flatten the Frankenstein, Maul the Mummy, and Whack the Werewolf? What do you think? Uncle Murray the Moocher hasn't got a chance in Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty Scaredy-Cat (Roaring Brook, 2019). Halloween hath no horrors compared to a Reconstituted Bad Kitty in which author-illustrator Bruel returns to the alliterative, alphabetizing wordplay wizardry born back in 2013 in his first best-selling picture book, Bad Kitty, There are many lovely and lovable kitty cats in literature, but only one Bad Kitty! Says Kirkus Reviews, "An origin story―-and alphabet practice and vocabulary stretcher―-for Bad Kitty's fans."

Party of One? Scaredy Squirrel Has A Birthday Party by Melanie Watt

Scaredy Squirrel has a problem. He's afraid of almost everyone and most things----CONFETTI and CLOWNFISH, PONIES AND PORCUPINES, ANTS, and of course, BIGFOOT! And especially birthday parties.

Not birthday cake, of course.

But Scaredy Squirrel wants a birthday party, with cake!

Scaredy Squirrel decides to do his own birthday party of one. But first, he has to do due diligence--examine his exact birth data, get his tuxedo dry-cleaned, research the perfect birthday cake, build up his breathing to blow up birthday balloons, mail an invitation to himself only--all the essentials. But as he goes to mail himself the invitation, he finds a birthday card in his mailbox.

ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE. I JUST HAD TO BE THE FIRST
TO WISH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Sincerely, Buddy

Awww! So sweet! Scaredy screws his courage up the the sticking point and mails his invitation to Buddy!

But inviting a guest is one risky move!

Still, Scaredy tries to prepare for every eventuality. He baits his casting rod with a carrot to divert ponies. He puts up a tent to shelter from falling confetti. He sets up perimeter surveillance for any roaming Big Foots. He puts on goggles and earmuffs in case a Porcupine pierces the perimeter and pops the balloons. He makes a list of party faux pas to avoid. He comes up with a list of acceptable conversational gambits.

Scaredy Squirrel is as ready as he'll ever be!

SURPRISE! PARTY ANIMALS APPEAR.

Scaredy can't handle an unplanned event!

Scaredy Squirrel panics... and plays dead.

But two hours later, when he recovers, Scaredy finds everything in perfect order, with Buddy Dog dishing out slices of delicious nut cake to a polite circle of puppies.

All is well and Scaredy Squirrel's first birthday party is a splendid success, in Melanie Watt's story of a successful shindig, Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party (Kids Can Press). Scaredy is a super stand-in for the worrywarts among us, which says that planning is always a good thing, but is never perfect, and that surprises can be a good thing as well. For Watts' first book about her quirky character, check out her Scaredy Squirrel and its nervous sequels! (See review here.)

Not Quite There Yet: Edward Almost Goes to School by Rosemary Wells

MONDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY OF PLAY SCHOOL.

"ARE YOU READY, EDWARD?" ASKED FATHER.

Edward' new school clothes are all laid out across his bed. But Edward is still in his PJs, under the covers with Bunny.

Holding Edward on his lap, Father dresses him.

Mother had to spoon each bite of his Cream of Wheat into his mouth. Finally they put Edward into the back seat of their car. Ready?

No. Edward has to go back for Bunny.

"I'LL HIDE," THINKS EDWARD.

He's not that hard to find, with his feet sticking out from under his bed. Father quietly carries Edward to the car and buckles him into his seat belt.

When they arrive at the school, Edward's teacher greets him with a big smile. The other kids seem happy to be busy painting at their tables. But Edward only wants to be happy back home. Then the worst thing happens! A lost Edward mistakenly goes into the girls' bathroom. It's pink and all the girls inside are aghast! Edward is miserable.

"NOT EVERYONE IS READY." SAID HIS TEACHER.

Being ready for school doesn't happen to everyone at the same time. Edward is ALMOST (but not quite) ready, in notable author-illustrator Rosemary Wells' book about a first try at the first day of preschool in her new series, Edward Almost Goes to School (Edward Almost Ready Book 2) (Open Road Media). Parents and teacher set a good example of understanding and keeping the stakes low in this episode in what will be a long school experience with many first days ahead. Celebrated for her inimitable and insightful long-running series of Max and Ruby books for preschoolers, this series about almost-ready Edward looks to be a winner for preschoolers.

Not THAT Class! The Class from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Who knows the fear that lurks in the heart of teachers before the first day of school?

It's the first day of school and I have a class coming in one hour. I heard that they put their last three teachers into early retirement!

The scuttlebutt in the teachers' lounge is that they all have two noses--the better for picking. They are world class at making spitballs... and excuses.

"My grandma ate my homework!"

They love art supplies, especially snacking on the crayons and colored chalks. But their best talent seems to be making noise.

They only come to school when they have contagious diseases.

They enjoy art and writing, but only on their desks!

Mrs. Green suits up in her crash helmet and all the protective equipment she can borrow from hockey goalies. She's as ready as she'll ever be! Finally her class enters the classroom.

WOW! They are all cheery and each one has only one nose!

Her jolly pupils greet her with flowers and apples. Some of the apples have several bites out of them already, but who's counting!

And another school year begins, in this one from the teacher's side of the desk, in The Class from the Black Lagoon (Cartwheel/Scholastic) in Mike Thaler's monster hit series beginning with The Teacher from the Black Lagoon, illustrated in appropriately wild kid-pleasing style by artist Jared Lee, also well known for his silly, scratchy illustrations for Lucille Colandro's seasonal staples, There Was An Old Lady series. There are plenty of titles in this popular and hilarious series to keep kids reading through summer vacation.

Into the Dark: Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klaasen

THIS IS CIRCLE.

Circle invites her friends Square and Triangle over to play a game of hide and seek.

"HERE ARE THE RULES," SHE SAID. "I WILL CLOSE MY EYES AND COUNT. YOU MUST HIDE. I WILL FIND YOU.

THERE'S ONE MORE RULE. NO HIDING UNDER THE WATERFALL."

Square is fine with that rule. It's dark back there.

"WHY NOT?" SAID TRIANGLE. "I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK."

There's one in every crowd.

When Circle finishes her count and opens her eyes, Square is still there. He reports that Triangle is not following the rules. He has gone behind the waterfall.

With a sigh, Square goes behind her waterfall to look for Triangle. There's a shadowy and dank cave back there, with pools of water and big rocks here and there, and the further she goes into the cave the darker it gets. If Triangle is there, she can't see him. She calls Triangle, but there's no answer. Then she sees something familiar through the gloom.

Circle is not happy. Breaking the rules has spoiled their fun.

"WHY ARE YOU SUCH A BAD FRIEND?"

But then Circle hears her own voice echoing in the dark and regrets her hard words. She apologizes to the shape in the dark.

"YOU ARE A GOOD FRIEND."

Triangle finally answers, saying that he is actually relieved to see Square and Circle there.

And then Circle points out that whoever or whatever Triangle is seeing, it's not Square, who is still outside.

"OH," SAID TRIANGLE.

That is a scary moment, but back in the sunlight, all is forgiven, and Circle waxes philosophical about the shape she thought she saw back in the dark. Could it have been perhaps something good?

In their Circle (Candlewick Press, 2019) Mac Barnett and Jon Klaasen offer much more than a short picture book that completes their award-winning trilogy. It teaches shapes to the very young, and it's an irresistible beginner book for emergent readers, but at the same time a short treatise on the nature of friendship and a thoughtful look at how fears grow in the dark of not knowing. A wise look at what we think we know when we don't really know.

Says Kirkus Reviews,"Illustrator Klassen's watercolor, graphite, and digitally created illustrations are evocative in their muted palette and spare presentation...the implied message of the story is a vital one in this xenophobic age and its subtle delivery and imagery encourage further exploration."

Night-Frights! Pippa's Night Parade by Lisa Robinson

Pippa loves listening to wild, imaginative stories about all kinds of things that go bump in the night.

But when it's night and the lights go off, they return to worry her.

VILLAINS

AND MONSTERS

AND BEASTS.

Oh, my!

One night a horned dragon comes roaring out of her favorite story! Then a bearded pirate wants to feed her to the sharks! And is that a grouchy bear at her door?

Nobody wants to go to bed with those things around.

Pippa doesn't just lie there. She runs to her parents' room! But they always bring her back to her own bed.

But Pippa has a PLAN.

She leaves an invitation inside all her favorite scary storybooks.

SHARPEN YOUR CLAWS!

PREPARE YOUR FUR AND PAWS!

COME SCARE THE PANTS OFF PIPPA!

And when all else fails, Pippa designs costume wardrobes for each beast and brute and baddie, They try on top hats and tutus, ballgowns and boas, and, of course, matching purses and shoes.

"STRUT YOU STUFF!" SAYS PIPPA.

The creatures have a blast, parading and posing until they're too pooped to pop. And when they drop off to sleep, Pippa cruises to her own bed for a good night's snooze.

Pippa discovers that with her imagination, she can beat the storybook monsters at their own game, in Lisa Robinson's Pippa's Night Parade (Two Lions Press, 2019).  Artist Lucy Fleming provides the storybook baddies, and Pippa creates the posh garb to keep her mental monsters nattily attired and ultimately too tired to cause trouble in a bedtime story that turns the tables on nighttime fears.

Meta-Menace? Get Me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools for Being Brave by Kalli Dakos and Deborah Cholette

I'm Max. I'm a bookmark who used to be SCARED TO DEATH of books. The pictures freaked me out!

When I was put on a page with a king cobra, I couldn't LOOK, and I SHOOK, and I SCREAMED--

Max the Bookmark has a phobia!

He knows it's silly. It's sensible to be scared of real cobras and sharks. But being scared of illustrations? That's embarrassing, all right, especially IF your job is being a bookmark. Your job is to mark any page the reader picks! If he wants to stay employed, Max needs remediation, and he decides to advance his education with a some coursework--the Special Bookmark Badge!

Rule One is to Breathe Deeply.

At least breathing comes naturally. But the Rule Two is harder. Make a Plan. In other words, think about what you can do. There's always something. And that's when Rule Three comes in: Try to imagine good outcomes. Think Good Thoughts.

But talk is cheap! The next thing is important and goes without saying: practice, Practice, PRACTICE.

Max can't wait to try out his new skills with The Scariest Book EVER!

Max masters the task of facing up to snakes, sharks, cockroach armies, skeletons, and hairy seven-headed monsters. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen?

"Tomorrow someone will turn the page in the book."

Fears of ink on a page are not really the issue, as Max loses his logophobia, in Kalli Dakos and Deborah Cholette's tongue-in-cheek how-to manual, Get Me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools for Being Brave (Holiday House, 2019). Sarah Infante provides humorous illustrations of this metafictional protagonist as a stand-in for the fearful to keep the narration light and funny.

Fears are normal, but kids troubled with persistent anxieties may find that this well-executed picture-book bit of bibliotherapy, actually borrowed from the Navy Seals training book, may transfer to handling fears and phobias in the real world. Says Kirkus Reviews, "An ambitious blending of emotional and psychological tools with fantasy that will serve the right reader well."

Fidgety Feet? Lena's Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day of School Dilemma by Keith Calabrese

Lena thought she was ready for the first day of kindergarten. Her dad thought so, too. She has her blue dress hanging on the doorknob. Her striped pink socks are laid out, and her green-flowered headband is at the ready. But...

LENA'S SHOES ARE NERVOUS.

Dad doesn't know what to do about nervous shoes. He suggests Lena have a serious talk with her footware.

WE CAN'T DO THAT," LENA SAYS SENSIBLY.

"THEY'RE SHOES."

Dad asks how her other clothes are feeling. Lena's socks share the mood of her shoes, she says, but her blue dress is an extrovert who can't wait to get to school.

Maybe her green headband can persuade her yellow shoes to go along with the rest of them. Lena puts on her blue dress and sits down for a tete a tete with her headband and her shoes.

THE SHOES SAY THEY'D RATHER NOT GO.

The headband is empathetic, but reminds the shoes that they've stepped bravely into a lot of strange situations that turned out better than expected.

"OFTEN THE BEST THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE'RE NERVOUS."

The yellow shoes are wavering, and Lena finally cinches the sale by suggesting that if the shoes don't come through, she may have to wear her bedroom slippers to school....

The first steps are the hardest when it comes to first-day jitters, in Keith Calabrese's Lena's Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-of-School Dilemma (Atheneum Books, 2018). Author Calabrese artfully documents a case of projection, as Lena projects her own first-day fears on her shoes. Dad plays along humorously and Lena and her reluctant feet work it out in this insightful and funny first-day-of-preschool tale. Clever conversation and illustrative changes in perspective offer humor and warmth, and Juana Medina's colorful flat black-line illustrations stand out against the black-and-white background of the steps to school that follow as Lena begins her journey through life's many intimidating moments.

Tummy Jitters: Butterflies on the First Day of School by Annie Silvestro

A month before school, Rosie picked out her first backpack.

She loved it with all her heart.

But the night before school starts, Rosie is almost sleepless. She can't eat the special chocolate chip pancakes her mom makes for her first-day breakfast.

"I don't feel well," she said.

"You just have butterflies in your belly," said her mother.

Who doesn't love butterflies? But not in your tummy, making it feel all floaty and tingly.

But then a girl named Violet sits down beside her on the bus and they discover they have the same teacher, and when Rosie opens her mouth to tell Violet her name, she sees a butterfly fly out. Violet doesn't seem to notice.

Still, there are some butterflies in her tummy and Rosie feels queasy when her teacher asks her to tell the other kids something about herself, but when she volunteers that she has a baby sister, she sees three more butterflies float away. No one else can see them, she supposes.

The day goes well, with painting and playground races, and when Rosie spots another girl standing alone, she goes over ask her name, and something surprising happens.

When Isabella tells Rosie her name, a whole bunch of butterflies fly up with her answer.

And when Rosie dashes down from the bus to tell her mother about what she did with her friends on the first day of school... her mom seems relieved.

"I can't wait to hear all about it," she smiled.

The words floated out on butterflies' wings!

Who knew parents have butterflies on the first day of school? Apparently author Annie Silvestro does, in her just published Butterflies on the First Day of School (Sterling Children's Books, 2019). First-day jitters affect everyone--students, parents, and teachers--on that important day, and Silvestro's insightful story, presented with the aid of artist Dream Chen's endearing butterfly prints and warm, appealing illustrations, will help reassure school newbies that butterfly flutters in the tummy are a universal experience.

Shark Alert! Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Sharks by Katie and Kevin Wang

From the outside the Aquarium looked a lot like the Space Museum--BIG.

"Hey, Sam Wu-ser! Do you have a stupid outfit for the aquarium, too?"

It was Ralph. Only Ralph thinks it's hilarious to call me Sam Wu-ser--because it rhymes with loser.

Sam's Wu's nemesis, Ralph Philip Zinkerman III, has made it his life's work is to let nobody in the class forget that unfortunate INCIDENT at the Space Museum. So Sam hides his fear when Betty the Aquarium Lady puts his hand right on the back of a real stingray. But touching a stingray is nothing compared to that holy terror in the shark tank, Crazy Charlie, who seems to have his eye on no one but Sam.

THEN THE SHARK UNHINGED HIS BIG JAW AND SHOWED ALL ITS TEETH... AND CHARGED.

AARRGH! said everybody who had seen Crazy Charlie ram his head into the glass.

Except... Ralph Philip Zinkerman, who laughs and points at Sam.

"Scaredy Cat Sam is scared of SHARKS!"

At least I hadn't wet my pants like I did at the Space Museum, Sam thought.

Sam figures he's pretty safe from sharks as long as he stays away from large bodies of water, but of course Ralph's parents make him invite everyone in the class to his birthday party, and of course his birthday party is at the BEACH, which means that the shark-infested ocean will be only a few steps away.

Sam's Space Blaster buddies Zoe and Bernard remind him that they will be there with him. They do research at the library on sharks, and Sam screws up his courage to venture onto the beach. He's planning to stay busy building sandcastles safely away from the waterline, but then he sees a black fin approaching an old man in the water.

He is even older than Na-Na.

If ever Na-Na is ever in the ocean and about to be eaten by a shark, I hope someone will save her, too!

Sam Wu comes through, wading bravely into the surf with his Space Blasters' mantra on his lips: Do it for the universe! in Katie and Kevin Wang's latest book, Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Sharks (Sterling Books, 2019). Again Sam Wu gets by with a little help from his friends and triumphs over his fears and Ralph Philip Zinkerman III in a truly funny beginning chapter book, illustrated in black and white comic drawings by Nathan Reed. There's even a hint of the Wangs' next book, as Ralph's sister Regina has an invitation for Sam Wu:

"Do you think you could come over sometime and get the zombie werewolf out of our basement?"

Katie and Kevin Wang's first book is Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts (see review here).

No Fear Here! Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Ghosts by Katie and Kevin Tsang

You are probably wondering why Ralph Philip Zinkerman the Third calls me Scaredy Cat Sam.

Listen carefully. I am only going to tell this story ONCE.

The Event that Must Never Be Spoken Of Again occurred on a field trip to the Space Museum where, emboldened by his Space Blasters shirt, Sam Wu climbs into the Astro Blaster mockup and sets off the blast-off simulation and is convinced that he meets up with the Space Ghost of his favorite TV show. Sirens screech, lights flash, and the Astro Blaster seems about to blow up. Suffice it to say, the worst thing that can happen on a field trip happens to Sam.

I looked down.

Rising above the laughter, comes Ralph's voice.

"Sam Wu peed his pants."

To overcome his reputation as Scaredy Cat Sam at school, he settles on becoming the owner of the scariest pet in the pet shop, a snake which he names Fang. Now what can Ralph Philip Zinkerman the Third say? Just wait till he sees Sam's deadly constrictor!

His best friends, Zoe and Bernard, are impressed. Immediately they wangle a visit to Sam's house to see the Super-Dangerous Predator, and while they are there, the power goes out, and when the lights come on and Sam takes his friends up to see his snake, his tank is open and--Fang is GONE! After an almost sleepless night wrapped in pickle juice-soaked aluminum foil to save him from being strangled by Fang, Sam is desperate. The next day he begs Zoe and Bernard to come back and help save him from the Super-Dangerous snake, which seems to be living--and screeching--inside his very walls! Has Fang joined forces with The Space Ghost? Is Sam Wu is doomed to be a scaredy cat after all?

Sam gets by with a little help from his friends, in Katie and Kevin Tsang's Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Ghosts! (Sterling Books, 2018). In an intriguing combination of early chapter book and graphic novel with Nathan Reed's wild and crazy illustrations, somewhat reminiscent of the Captain Underpants series, kids will agree that Sam Wu comes through, with his reputation as not-a-scaredy-pants intact--at least as far as space ghosts and snakes go. Sam is a sympathetic multicultural protagonist, enjoying the differences in his Chinese family's food, finding new friends, and making his way through the trials of elementary school bullies and his own fears. Readers will want to see how Sam fares with another fear in Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Sharks!

Taking the Plunge: Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

I'M GOING TO JUMP OFF THE DIVING BOARD TODAY," JABARI TOLD HIS DAD.

"REALLY?" SAID HIS DAD.

The weather is warm, and the pool is open. Jabari's passed his swimming test and he's got a new swimsuit and matching swim goggles.

He's ready to move on up to a new level. He's not scared.

But it's easy to say you're going jump off the high board when you're not there, looking up, up, up at that board. Way up there at the end of the diving board, even the big kids look very small. Jabari watches as they bounce a few times and dive off the board, hitting the water with a huge SPLASH!

It looks easy. But waiting in line at the bottom of the ladder, Jabari is uneasy. He gives the kid behind him a pass, telling him he needs to think about what dive to do. Then he begins the climb. The ladder is a lot taller than it looks.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" CALLED HIS DAD.

"I'M JUST A LITTLE TIRED," SAID JABARI.

Jabari is happy to take his dad's suggestion that he take a little rest. He comes up with another reason to come down--he forgot to stretch! Dad agrees that that's a good idea and suggests that tomorrow will be a good day to jump, too. But then he gives Jabari some advice.

"SOMETIMES WHEN I FEEL SCARED, I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND TELL MYSELF I AM READY.

SOMETIMES IT STOPS FEELING SCARY AND STARTS TO FEEL LIKE A SURPRISE."

Jabari tries Dad's technique. He likes surprises, he thinks, and suddenly he feels ready to take the plunge. He begins to climb toward the top again.

JABARI STOOD UP STRAIGHT AND WALKED ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THE BOARD.

And then, Jabari Jumpsin Gaia Cornwall's 2017 Candlewick Press story of a boy taking that leap of faith into his own future. There are many leaps forward in childhood, and author Cornwall's top-selling picture book sets the scene for one of those emblematic moments that almost all of us have at various times in life. "Nothing attempted, nothing done," says the old saying, and young readers will get it that Jabari's jump is something more than just a dunk in the neighborhood pool, but one that he will have the courage to make again and again in life.

Cornwall's soft and affectionate illustrations are perfect: her colors match the sun-sparkled aqua of a freshly painted pool on a June morning, and her use of various perspectives parallel the text as Jabari looks up, up, up the long ladder and down, down, down, past his toes curling around the end of the diving board to the water far below, where his dad and toddler sister, her little hands clinging tightly to dad's shoulder, watch his big moment. This is a little story that is in itself a parable of moving on up in life. Says Publishers Weekly, "It's a lovely, knowing account of a big 'first" in a child's life." And Kirkus Reviews quips, "This simple and sincere tale of working up courage to face fears makes quite a splash!"

A Single Step: Come With Me by Holly McGhee

All over the world, the news is told and told and retold of anger and hatred.

The little girl was frightened.

Kids can't be kept from hearing about bad things. Sometimes it's hard not to be frightened. What can this little girl do to make it better?

Her Papa said, "Come with me."

Her father takes her by the hand, out on the street and down into the subway. The girl is confused. They ride through the long tunnels, and everyone looks sad and shut up inside themselves. But then her papa tips his hat, and some of the people smile back.

They won a tiny battle over fear.

Still the people-against-people news is bad, and the little girl asks again what she can do about it. Her mother takes her hand and takes her out to get things for dinner.

The grocery store is full of foods and people from all over the world, and her mother tells her,

"One person doesn't represent a family, or a race or the people of one land."

But what can she do to make the world better? The child ponders as she sets the table and eats with her parents, while her little dog lies under the table. Maybe she can take him out for a walk all by herself.

Her parents look like they are not sure about that. But maybe the boy across the hall can go with her.

He opens his door.

Two together are better than one.

The longest journey begins with a single step, in Holly McGhee's hopeful Come With Me (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2017). Perhaps making the world better really is one step at a time, one day at a time, and McGhee's simple story with its simple message for youngsters is that everyone and everything they do matters in this world, and that may be the best that can be said. At least, it's a good start. It's an old message, but Pascal Lamaitre's retro-styled illustrations (a little reminiscent of Syd Hoff) are so quintessentially childlike and unprepossessing that they persuasively carry the premise that a little caring and courage are sometimes all anyone has to offer the world and its ills. Says The New York Times Book Review, “Together, the words and pictures work seamlessly to deliver a powerful message: What we do matters.”

Worry-Warts, Unite! Sam the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems

Sam was scared of anything and everything.

Really. The PLINK of a raindrop scares him stiff. A tiny spider scurries away out of Sam's sight, but he's still terrified. Even the Pigeon driving the school bus spots Sam and snarkily says SHEESH!

Sam is the world's biggest scaredy cat, all right. Everything frightens him....

Except for his friend Leonardo, the Terrible Monster.

Leonardo is a terrible monster, scarcely scarier than the raindrop, but he tries his best. Sam may be the biggest scaredy-cat known to man, but he's not afraid of Leonardo. (Nobody is, but still....) But it seems that Sam is not the ONLY scaredy-cat of note in the neighborhood.

One day Sam made a particularly scary discovery.

He and Leonardo meet up with a girl named Kerry and her feline monster named Frankenthaler. (Kerry was the second most scaredy-cat kid in the world.) Of course, Sam and Kerry are terrified.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Both of the kids hurl themselves to the ground and curl up, teeth chattering.

But strangely, Frankenthaler and Leonardo hit it off right from the start. Sam and Kerry, on the other hand, are scared spitless--but not of each other's monsters!

They are scared of strange KIDS! They are afraid of EACH OTHER.

But this time their monsters have had it with their scaredy-cat charges. Leonardo and Frankenthaler buddy up and head off, page right, for some fear-free fun on their own.

"FIGURE IT OUT!" SAYS LEONARDO.

It's time for some tough love from Sam and Kerry's mild-mannered monsters, in three-time Caldecott winner Mo Willems' latest, Sam, the Most Scaredy-cat Kid in the Whole World: A Leonardo, the Terrible Monster Companion (Hyperion Books, 2017). In this companion book to his hit, Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Mo Willems doesn't abandon his cowardly kids, even slyly giving them a chance to join forces to turn the tables on their monsters. Overcoming fears of the unknown is a popular theme, and in this one Willems adopts the wide-open style of its companion title, using muted colors, spare text, and hand-lettering to good advantage to tell his tale of finding some social courage. "Visually and narratively, this story is a lovely bookend to Leonardo," says Publishers Weekly.