Brave Molly

March 1, 2019
A young child finds the courage to banish a familiar monster in this nearly wordless picture book.The front endpapers depict a pencil drawing of a monster seen from the perspective of the artist. The story commences with the eponymous Molly reading in a window. She watches wistfully as a group of children crosses the street, but what's that behind them? It looks like the monster in her drawing, which she crumples angrily before rushing outside to approach the kids--but she does not interact. The monster--a manifestation of Molly's shyness--lingers behind a tree, watching. The children leave a book behind. Molly puts it in her bag and sets off after them, the monster a few steps behind. Molly's shyness multiplies as the monster is joined by a multitude of others; they dog her trail as she runs through horizontal panels, climbing trees and crawling through a log in order to elude them. How can Molly outwit her shyness? Maybe it's as simple as saying, "Hi." The artwork itself feels bashful, with soft colors and plenty of white space. Readers struggling with their own shyness will find inspiration in this plucky heroine. The crosshatched monsters, with sharp angles, mean mouths, and tiny eyes, are appropriately scary. Molly has tan skin and curly brown hair. One of the other children appears black; the others are white.Brave indeed. (Picture book. 4-8)

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May 31, 2019

K-Gr 3-In this nearly wordless picture book, a young girl summons the courage to overcome her fears and vanquish the ever-present monster that only she can see. The opening spread zooms in on Molly's pencil sketch of this antagonist, made just frightening enough by scratchy cross-hatched lines and undefined features. From her window seat, the lonely girl gazes longingly at three children sitting on a nearby bench, but she is kept from joining them by the monster, which looms nearby. She finally heads outdoors, and though the boy greets her with a wave, the monster remains omnipotent. When the boy leaves a book behind, Molly is determined to return it. It will take a harrowing journey through the woods, with the monster (which multiplies into many monsters) close on her heels, before Molly understands that she must stop running away and stand up to her fears (the book is returned and a friendship is forged). The detailed, vividly expressive mixed-media illustrations convey the action while allowing readers to interpret the story for themselves. The monster is never named, and children can rely on their own experiences to verbalize how Molly is feeling; in the process, they can also consider their own anxieties and develop empathy for others. The scene in which Molly conquers her monsters (they are literally blown off the page by her explosion of courage and resolve) is empowering. VERDICT Offering much to digest and discuss, this tale is a superb choice for fostering social emotional learning.-Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2019
A girl longs for the courage to talk to some peers on their way to school, but something keeps preventing her: fear, represented as a crosshatched monster that dogs her on nearly every page. This marvelously attuned story is told with the help of comics-style panels but no words until the girl manages to utter the most necessary one: "Hi."

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)