Review Detail

SCARED PUPPY is a clever board book that helps to teach young readers about being scared. Puppy is scared of a slinky shadow. He learns to be brave and face his fear by turning on the light. He then realizes that the shadow was his teddy bear with the text reiterating that the thing you think is scary usually isn't as bad as the reader thinks. The end of the book includes a mirror so children can practice their scared and brave faces.

What I loved: This book does a great job of introducing fear and how to handle when you see something scary. The touch and feel elements allow children to interact with the book on each page. With the elements around bravery and facing things that make you scared, it ends up being a hopeful and positive-feeling book.

The text is brief and conveys the story well with a focus on Puppy and his feelings as a concrete example alongside instructive text. It is a quick book that will work well for young toddlers who are beginning to understand emotions.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, I think this book does a bit of brushing off fear, when it is often a valid emotion. It's a tough space to talk about fear for children this young, but it would have been helpful to have more ways for them to cope with being scared such as talking about it with a grown-up.

Final verdict: SCARED PUPPY is a thoughtful board book that introduces the feeling of being scared to young toddlers.