I think the author tried their best to make a positive book for kids, but simply are not qualified to tackle the topics they tried to address. If a teacher is so cross at her students that it scares the kids, shouldn't we be a little concerned about her behaviour? Are we indirectly telling kids they should tackle scary adults on their own, because it's too childish to ask for help? In the other case, where the author provides an actual suggestion on how to cope with fear in a way that doesn't seem to involve immediately sweeping the fears under the rug, I again have question marks creeping up. Children may fear things we do not, while also lacking some of the fears we may have, because they are still learning how the world works and developing awareness. Let's keep in mind that real children do get abandoned at the mall or in hot cars - When you are totally dependent on another being left behind or losing your parents in one way or the other is, in fact, very scary. Children often fear losing their parents in the supermarket, for instance, prior to fully grasping the concept of mortality. No matter how silly a child's fears may seem to an adult, they are still perfectly valid and these fears are instrumental for coping with the real world. But, it's important to point out, that our fear *doesn't* go away as we get older rather, the things we fear tend to change.

There are perfectly good reasons to be weary of dogs, for instance.

This is really dismissive and, again, untrue. The 'suggestions' on coping with fear in this book are largely based on the idea that there is nothing to fear. This is not only blatantly false, but doesn't encourage positive emotional development either. But here the author appears to be selling the idea that being afraid is just for silly little kids- something to grow out of and something that big kids don't have. Bravery, to me, is all about being able to act in the face of fear and learning how to cope with being frightened and intimidated not about having less fear. More importantly, what I can get of the author's ideas of bravery don't seem like the messages I'd want to pass on to my daughter. Is this book indeed intended for toddlers? Because the illustrations and writing seem to be more appropriate for a child who is a little older.

But, although it was reasonably well-written, the author's message wasn't clear to me and it seemed the author forgot who their target audience is. For that alone, I'd like to rate it higher. I thought the artwork in this book was cool and I liked the peepholes.

Brave as you book