The Horn Book Guide

PRESCHOOL

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro

I Used to Be Afraid

40 pp. | Roaring Brook/Porter | September, 2015 | Trade ISBN 978-1-59643-631-2 $17.99

(1) PS "I used to be afraid of SPIDERS," begins the horrified narrator, looking at a large spider dangling from the ceiling. After a page turn--employing a spider-shaped die-cut--the spider shows up against a beautiful web, "But not anymore." Each intriguing die-cut effectively transforms something-to-fear into something-not-so-scary. Seeger also tackles less concrete but still real fears (change, being alone) in an emotionally resonate book.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015