Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems (Walker Books)

Dealing with childhood anxieties really isn't easy in a children's picture book...
But Mo Willems is an excellent storyteller, so in his new book "Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World" he introduces humour to underpin the story of scaredy sam with a really nice message about dealing with anxieties and taking baby steps towards confronting or dealing with them one by one.

Sam is indeed a complete scaredy-cat. Most things alarm him, and sometimes it's only his constant companion Leonardo the Monster (who many will recognise from another one of Mo's excellent story books) who manages to calm Sam down.

When a new kid arrives, Sam isn't even scared of her monster Frankenthaler. He's absolutely petrified of Kerry, the little girl herself.

Which would be fine if Kerry wasn't equally scared of Sam.

In the end the monsters leave the two kids to deal directly with their fears and anxieties, and slowly the pair begin to bond. Perhaps life isn't all that scary after all.

A fun story told in Mo's trademark humour (we particularly loved the cameo from the Pigeon - as in "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus")

"Sam the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World" by Mo Willems is out now, published by Walker Books (kindly supplied for review).