This will be helpful for young children who are shy, as well as those with anxiety and selective mutism. I would love to see a version written for school age children, as my nephew still struggles with extreme anxiety and would benefit from a book. I think readers will appreciate the informational section at the end as well as the expertise shared by the author.

I recommend this for therapists and schools.

It was great to see a kids book talking about selective mutism, and I also feel is more widely relatable for kids with anxiety due to the anxiety discussed by the main character. Love to see this representation!

It was such a beautiful story to read and very relatable for my daughter who read it with me.
I think this book would help a lot of children to build the confidence to be able to feel brave enough to use their voice.
We highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing us a copy to be able to read and review.

This a beautiful window into how someone with Selective Mutism or Social Anxiety might feel in different situations. What may feel easy in one location becomes much harder in another. Helping a child recognize their brave moments and build their social muscles is vital for growth. Loved this book. The pictures are engaging, the rhymes solid, and the sentiment feels just right. Would love to add this to my school's library.
Special thanks to Brave Mighty Minds for providing me with a digital ARC. I loved it.

I have a student this year with selective mutism. I really think this book will be helpful in helping his classmates understand his situation. It’s important that are sensitive to it, but supportive.

This is a useful resource for supporting children who are selectively mute, as well as educating those who aren't. The overall narrative is sweet, but I felt it to be too long for the age it was pitched at, and the rhyme scheme was not always consistent. While I appreciate that the parents' support came from a loving place, I'm not sure if it sets the right precedent that the young girl needs a shiny necklace in order to remind her to be brave... Would've been nice to refer to intrinsic motivators, as not all children/families have the means to access fancy motivators. That being said, the back matter is useful and well written. Overall, a solid effort.

This was a very sweet and beautifully illustrated picture book. I love how selective mutism and anxiety is treated with understanding and compassion. The main character, works through her anxieties along with her parents and gains skills and bravery to use her voice. The authors also provide information for parents. I would recommend this book for kids 4-10. Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author/illustrator, Brave Mighty Minds and Net Galley for the free early copy in exchange for my honest review.

The message of this book is as inspiring as the title suggests and will be great for the right reader. I do think that the audience is very niche, and that the rhyme scheme/design for younger readers is a mismatch with the length of the book, which would be for slightly older readers. And while some don’t mind this, the flexibility of the rhyme scheme and rhythm wasn’t to my taste.

Bravery Grows will speak to your heart. This is an important book that many of us can relate to. This story explores childhood anxiety and selective mutism. The pictures bring the story alive as the text dives into realistic life situations which can be a wonderful conversation starters. This book is gentle and encouraging and reminds us all that are feelings are valid. I'd highly recommend this book for all young scholars.

This book is wonderful not only because the main character gains bravery, but they also grow into themselves as part of this as well. I definitely found myself relating to certain parts in the book, like being shy at school, especially having gone to the middle school I went to. I would have loved this book and found it immensely helpful when I was younger, and I’m grateful to see it on its way to publication here! This is a great book.

Thank you for allowing me to read this eARC in advance of publication. This is my honest feedback I am leaving voluntarily.

Bravery Grows is beautifully written! As a preschool teacher, this book is perfect for students transitioning to kindergarten, or just nerves in general. I love that the story allows for ample social emotional discussions. I will be purchasing this book for my classroom once it's published, and it wil be a new classroom staple.

A brilliant reminder that we can do hard things, with encouragement and support!

This beautiful picture book offers delightfully rhyming prose, practical strategies to gentle support children with childhood anxiety and selective mutism, as well as encouragement that bravery grows with practice.

I appreciate the focus on practical coping strategies, the caregiver’s guide at the end of the book, as well as the identification of thoughts/feelings/bodily sensations that can accompany anxiety.

I adore the whimsical and colourful illustrations, that work well alongside the important message of this delightful picture book.

With many thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and NetGalley for the e-Arc, in exchange for an honest review.

This book would make a brilliant addition to any school, child psychology clinic, or home library, to share with all children about childhood anxiety and situational mutism.

Release date: 21st May 2025

This is a beautiful story about finding your voice by being brave. I love the way the book puts a positive spin on the steps it takes to become brave. Finding your way through struggles and being brave looks different for everyone. This book embodies being brave means trying something even when you are scared!

"Bravery Grows" tells the story of a young girl who is animated and expressive when she is at home and around her family members who make her feel safe and comfortable, but becomes quiet and uncertain in other environments where she does not feel as comfortable. Over time when the girl practices with her "brave muscles", she feels stronger and stronger over time and grows the confidence to speak up in social situations or when others are around.

As a child/adolescent therapist, another aspect of this book that I absolutely loved was the focus on use of thought & feeling identification, expression of emotions, and use of coping skills. The child's mom encourages her daughter to take space when she is upset and then provides comfort. Additionally, the book provides excellent descriptors of the child's experience of anxiety and distress, including words to describe her physical symptoms of anxiety and overwhelm. This book would be an excellent tool to help a child grow their vocabulary in terms of thought/feeling identification. The book provides some psychoeducation specifically related to Selective Mutism at the very end of the book for parents/caregivers, but this book would also benefit kids who struggle with general anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety, or general shyness!

This picture book is a beautiful tribute to anyone who has ever had or has cared for someone with selective mutism. I absolutely adored the support and love the parents in this book show to their daughter. I also love the educational materials at the end.

What I love most though is the idea of bravery muscles! I am so going to use that term moving forward. Sometimes we all just need a reminder that we need to strengthen our bravery muscles. Marvelous messages and gorgeous illustrations.

This was a beautiful storybook about selective mutism. I am happy to see representation of this disorder in a picture book. My main piece of feedback is to reinforce that it's okay to be selectively mute. This story does a good job of that, but at the end of the day, speaking does not always have to be the goal for selectively mute individuals.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

⭐️ 5/5
Publication Date: May 21, 2025
Children’s Illustrated

This is a colorfully, illustrated children’s book about a young girl who is confident, proud, and has no problem finding her voice while at home, but out in public like at the park or school, it’s not as easy. I read this with my 4 year old daughter and I was really impressed with the creative adjectives and appropriate words used in this story. The detailing in the pictures was engaging and fun. The young girl is given some mindfulness techniques with the help of her parents to find her voice again and grow her glow. This is huge for kids and even adults to learn about for how to handle anxiety; do we need space, to talk about it, a hug? Her parents were so supportive and encouraging, it was just such a heartwarming and resourceful book! The grown-up guide for parents to reference was an amazing idea to include too.

Thank you Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing an advanced copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is such a cute book with an amazing message! If you talk about growth mindset in your classroom, then you need this book! I read this with my third graders and we had some great discussions about a time that they were nervous and had to grow their own bravery. Bravery is not usually discussed as something that needs to grow. But bravery is just like anything else that you need to work on and everyone has different times that they need to be able to “grow their bravery.”

This was a very cute book. The illustrations are lovely, the caregiver's guide in the back seems very useful and informative, and I really like the concept of "brave muscles" that need to grow. As someone who struggled with a lot of anxiety as a kid, I think stories like this are helpful. That being said, this book does follow a rhyme scheme and I felt like some of the phrasing was just a little clunky in parts.

I didn't know a lot about selective mutism, and this book was really informative on the subject. It was helpful to read about it from the perspective of the child in a fictional tale.