  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 06/01/2019 PreS-Gr 2—Max is a bookmark who is afraid of books. Actually, it's the pictures that really freak him out. The king cobra from The Jungle Book is the one that sent him over the edge and he decided he desperately needed to get some help. He went back to school to get a Special Bookmark Badge. At school, his trainer offers ideas on how to face his fears and make them go away. He learns to breathe deeply, make a plan, and think good thoughts. And it works! The art is just perfect for this story. The "scary" images are not nearly as scary as Max seems to think and the interspersing of darker images with the light takes the fright down a notch. Max, himself, is appealing and his emotions are shown best in the shape of his mouth and arch of his eyebrows. Consider pairing it with Ed Emberley's classic Go Away, Big Green Monster!, Patricia Polacco's Thunder Cake, Greg Pizzoli's The Watermelon Seed, and Emily Gravett's Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears. VERDICT Books that help children deal with fear are always helpful when done right and this one is. A solid addition for most collections.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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