I Grab the Mic is a book about overcoming fears, specifically, Stage Fright. A young girl and her friends are getting ready to perform, but they come down with stage fright. The story shows all the things they wish they could do to avoid getting out there and talking, singing etc. to the audience. The book also shares some of those things people say like, "picture them in their underwear" but none of that seems to work. They finally picture themselves using a mic to participate in a spelling bee, being a judge at a contest or broadcasting a sporting event and then just grab that mic and do it. I like that it shows them overcoming a fear, but my grandson still had concerns and questions. How did they get over their fear, grandma? We talked about just closing our eyes and doing it, but I'm not sure if this is the book that will help him get beyond that fear of public speaking. The illustrations were cute and definitely illustrated what was going on in the minds of the kids. This added to the story and the theme of overcoming your fears.

The kind of hip-hoppy verse you get at open mic nights and poetry slams certainly doesn't always translate to the page, but it manages it here. You might think the lead character is getting ready to perform at one of these events, but in the end any and every job needing microphone skills, and confidence, where stage fright may have been a problem, is done – from sportscaster to President. The verse makes a virtue out of its repetitiveness, it doesn't go over the top in visualising stage fright and public speaking anxieties, and it's certainly dynamic with the visuals. A strong four stars, especially as I don't know of any other books tackling the same topic.

This was a cute book that I think will definitely help kids overcome their fears. This was great about overcoming your fear of being on stage.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I Grab the MIC is a children's book intended for ages 5-8. The story follows a girl as she struggles and then overcomes her stage fright. The narrative teaches children a few ways to overcome their fear but also what lies on the other side: confidence!

I Grab the Mic by Malik Sickstein is a fun and inspiring picture book that empowers children to find their voice and overcome their fears. The story follows a young girl and her friends as they prepare to speak and perform in front of a group. Through the power of hip-hop, the kids learn to express themselves and gain the confidence they need to grab the mic and make their voices heard.

The book is written in lyrical verse, which adds a nice rhythm and flow to the story. Malik Sickstein's use of hip-hop language and culture adds an authentic and relatable element to the book that children will love. The illustrations are colorful and engaging, bringing the story to life and capturing the energy and spirit of hip-hop culture.

What I love most about I Grab the Mic is its message of self-expression and empowerment. The book teaches children that everyone has a voice and the power to use it, regardless of their age, background, or experience. It encourages children to be confident and take risks, reminding them that mistakes are a part of the learning process and that it's okay to be nervous.

Overall, I Grab the Mic is a fantastic book for children of all ages. It is a wonderful tool for parents and teachers to use to encourage self-expression, creativity, and confidence in their children. The book's use of hip-hop language and culture makes it a unique and exciting addition to any child's library. It is a must-read for anyone looking to inspire and empower the next generation of voices.

For me, it felt like a miss. Although the visuals and premise are good, the story lacks depth. I'd want to see more attention given to the lead character.

The characters are so cute! I love the illustrations of the book. The text throughout is great, I love all the different text styles! Love the rhymes throughout, and the different outcomes that come. So many different things for a kid to relate to and give them the confidence to be themselves.

My kids all enjoyed this book and it is one I would love to have in our collection.

Kids ages (2,4,6)

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it was a miss for me. I love the concept: illustrating the journey of anxiety and stage fright, and coupling that journey with lyrical, rhythmic prose. Anaphora is always a smart craft element when writing children’s books, and in this regard it worked well.

Though it was a very sweet, dynamic reading experience, I couldn’t help but feel the book/story struggled to stay in focus. Since it is written in 1st person, I would have loved to see the illustrations follow ONE character specifically rather than hop back-and-forth between multiple characters. When it comes to children’s books, immediate connection between the reader and the main character(s) is so important. I felt like we never quite got that emotional connection. There were also times when I felt the anaphora seemed to grow stale; I pictured a young reader possibly growing bored or restless halfway thru.

Again, loved the concept, love the narrative style, the voice. I just had a hard time connecting with the story and its intended focal point.

I Grab the Mic is PERFECT for any aspiring superstars! I love how it tackles stage fright and then works on how to gain confidence. I know at my house my boys are confident as can be at home, but nervous as can be on a stage. This should help them both find their own voice and find their confidence.

Kiss stage fright goodbye...
You're superfly.
Grab that mic

This is the first picture book of the series. It features kids in challenging scenarios and how they build up confidence to succeed. It's a fun book written through lyrical hip-hop inspired verse. How fun is that?

A young girl and her friends are nervous as they face their fears when it comes to speaking and performing in front of a crowd. The good news is that they all have success and find their confidence to share their voice.

The illustrations are colourful and engaging. I Grab the Mic encourages kids to be brave and not give up... a "you've got this" encouragement! Grab the mic and shine! A great book that I highly recommend!

This book was great about teaching children the meaning of stage fright and anxiety in an easy and imaginative way. I loved the message it portrayed and it’s great to see books that children can relate to at any age. The drawings and illustrations where fitting for the tale and I love the title name too.

This is a great book to read to any child that is going through some sort of stage fright. Whether that be stage fright entering a spelling bee stage right giving a speech in school stage fright to sing at a recital. This is a great book I recommend it to anyone who is about to enter into an exciting,.This is a great book to read to any child that is going through some sort of stage fright. Whether that be stage fright entering a spelling bee stage right giving a speech in school stage fright to sing at a recital. This is a great book I recommend it to anyone who is about to enter into an exciting but nervous adventure being on stage in front of lots of people

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

I don't know if it was just the ARC I received or if the formatting was just horribly off but I wasn't happy with this book. I constantly felt like I was missing pieces of the dialogue or the pieces weren't synced up the way they should be. I'm looking forward to checking this book out from the library in the future and seeing a finished copy and if it improves the issues I've had with it.

MiC Drop.

As someone who used to be shy and deal with a lot of stagefright, and spotlight-fright, I absolutely love the book! It would definitely infuse confidence in children who have a fear of public speaking.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a rhyming story about kids learning to overcome stage fright by remembering why they're on the stage to begin with. Some of the reasons they give for being on the stage are part of their imaginations as they are things like being the president giving the state of the union address, which as children they're not quite ready for yet. I felt like the story was a nice balance between "I'm afraid because..." and "I can do this because...", acknowledging that the fears are valid but showing that overcoming it can lead to really great things. They rhymes didn't follow the same patterns throughout. At some points they were in like consecutive couplets, in others they felt almost limericky. But even with switching up styles they flowed well.

The illustrations were very colorful and fun, and I liked how the text flowed through the images instead of being static at the top or bottom of the pages. The characters were also pretty diverse, and it seemed to me that there was more focus on POC characters than white characters. I could read this book several times because the rhymes flowed well, it has a good message for kids, and the pics were fun. Overall I give this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

This is a fine book for young students who are about to give a presentation, go on stage, audition, sing in front of a group, in other words, communicate with an audience. The writing and illustrations and lively and the advice is GREAT: Focus on your audience. Why are you doing this? What message do you have? What pleasures are you bringing the audience? Don't worry yourself. Think about the audience. They want to hear from you. They want to learn from you. They want to be entertained by you. Grab the mic and change the world!

Thank you, Paw Prints Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

This book is such a good representation of kids having stage fright/ anxiety when they are asked to perform in front of people.

I find the illustrations fun and the writing enjoyable. It’s so done well. How the little story understands the condition so well is quite remarkable.

This is a lovely book that shows children overcoming their fears and gaining confidence! The illustrations are fun and I love the rhyme and writing style. It carries an important message that will teach kids that they can face their fears.

A book about children overcoming fears. It shows various children grabbing the mic to do things that might scare them. The idea was cute but the drawings weren't my favorite.

This book it’s encouraging kids to be brave. Book illustration it’s quite good. Kids will def like it.

Thank you Netgalley and Paw Prints Publishing