Such a good book, so well written with great thought to the needs of young children and the people who support them. I think it would be a very helpful book for young children. The story gently explains the emotions scared and surprised in cartoons with easy to read words. I think it’s such a well written story and the graphics are really appealing.
I thought the end part of the book where the advice for adults looked at how to support children and to encourage identify their emotions was especially helpful. There are practical ways suggested to support their children, such as creating a note book to explore emotions. Allowing emotions rather than trying to get your child to push them away is such an important approach and I think most adults struggle with this so putting it into a children’s book is just fabulous.
I think for some adults these concepts could be very helpful for them and their children. Definitely an excellent addition to any home, school, library or therapy setting for children and their supporters.

I have two young children, and we read every day. I really enjoyed this book. The pictures are colorful, simple, and beautiful. I like the idea of ​​the emotion detective and the notebook where the childs draws what they feel.

I also really liked the questions throughout the book to open up discussions with the child and the options for solutions to address negative emotions. The information for parents at the end of the book is also very useful.

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to parents of children ages 3 and up.

Very cute book to help teach kids about their feelings. The illustrations were great. I would recommend this for anyone with little ones that are learning about feelings and expressing their feelings

My daughter loved reading this with me, she was very interested in the story as I was reading it, she doesn't fully understand it but still enjoyed it. She also loves the pictures

A lovely, very well written and stunningly illustrated book about feelings. I loved how every emotion is explained in detail, how every little body reaction is noted, and the whole cozy tone of the book.

The illustrations are beautiful, they add so much to the whole story and are so well executed.

This is a book I would definitely use even for my kids aged 4. Thank you for the review copy, it was a lovely read

Big thank you to Lindsay N. Giroux, Alicia Teba Godoy, Free Spirit Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read I Know Scared. I will share my review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

This children's book about emotions focuses on feeling scared, worried, and surprised. These emotions can often be tied together, so it's helpful to give examples to children of what each word means specifically and which body clues align with those emotions. Being scared is normal, and it's important to be able to recognize and explain how you feel. Developing emotional vocabulary is one of the most important and beneficial parts of growing up, and these books can help facilitate communication for kids. There's also a detailed section in the back of the book about how adults can help kids identify and explain their emotions, and how to ask the right questions to get to the root of a problem in order to de-escalate. This is such a great series and I appreciate the message being shared. I would definitely recommend for any public library, school library, class library, home library, etc.

5/5 stars!

Thanks again!

I loved the book. So helpful to help caregivers teach kids about feelings, recognizing them, and how to handle uncomfortable feelings.

This book will help children to understand their emotions, i think that the section at the back for parents would be very helpful especially if their child is finding it hard to explain and get their emotions out. I really like the illustrations and i think that this will help people to understand their body as well as their emotions.

Simple yet beautiful children book to teach little ones about scared, worries, anxious, and surprised.
I didn't need to use simplified words when I read it to my son, 4 years old, because he already understood the words in this book. He just questioned the timeline of the story because for him (and me), the timeline was all over the place.
Since my son easily got scared and surprised, he kinda related to the girl in the book.
Overall, it's a very good book.

Thank you to Lindsay N. Giroux, Teacher Created Materials, Free Spirit Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Book 102 of 350 ~ 2025

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I wish a series similar to this existed when I was younger. Maybe we would be better able to understand our feelings better rather than fight against feeling.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#book102of350 #amreading #netgalley #tbrpile #instareads #readstagram #reading #bookreview #bookreviewer #booklover #booksAreLife #booksForTheWin #thisbookfairyisreading #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramfeature #bookshelf #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookworm #goodreads #booklovers #theSGbookfairyReads #theSGtrekkiereads #bookaholic #bookaddict #bookchallenge2025 #reviews #lovebooks #booknerds

This is a simple book with cute illustrations. A little girl is telling us about her big emotions. I almost wrote this one off at first, but I tried to see it through my 3-year-old's eyes, and I believe she will love this one. The illustrations are well done and colorful, and there are easy-to-understand emotions and feelings about what is going on around her. The little girl in the story has adults she feels safe with. I think my daughter will relate to this.

This was a good read. It's nice to see books about emotions for kids and that it's to feel certain ways with different emotions that we go through. My son liked the book and sat through the whole thing. The book cover actually got his attention to want to read it.

A really cute and beautifully illustrated children’s book about the importance of honoring our emotions and the love of family who support us through them. I especially loved the ending, which includes thoughtful suggestions for calming down during tough moments. A gentle and meaningful read for little ones. My son absolutely loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and Free Spirit Publishing for the eARC!

I loved this book! It is so helpful for children to embrace their feelings. As adults, overtime we are taught to suppress our emotions and deal with them later. I like that the author showed how the main character was in distress, let her feel the emotions but then also deal with them in the moment in a safe and rational way. I love how the author describes the feelings when the main character is worried and anxious and how it makes her feel and then the opposite when the worry is receding. That's a great way for children to be aware of the signs and to then start the process with a caring adult to process their feelings. Later, as they get older they will be prepared for the various feelings that can arrive when they are scared. The author also includes a great section in the back that will help caring adults be there to support and assist the young child in their lives help navigate the array of feeling and emotions that arise. Plus, I absolutely loved the illustrations! They are so cute, colorful and welcoming.

*Now I Know Scared: A Book About Feeling Scared, Worried, and Surprised* by Lindsay N. Giroux is a gentle, thoughtful, and beautifully designed book that helps young children explore big emotions in a safe and supportive way. The illustrations are modern and warm, creating a welcoming tone that feels both current and comforting. While the book is mostly wordless, the sparse text is used with care and purpose, supporting the story without overwhelming it. The focus is on a young girl going through her everyday life, experiencing a full range of emotions, including joy, security, fear, and worry.

What makes this book truly special is how it gently guides readers to recognize and reflect on those feelings. Children are shown how to identify physical and emotional signs of fear or worry, and they are invited to think about times when they may have felt the same. The book also illustrates healthy coping strategies and how children can know if those strategies are helping. The final pages offer valuable guidance for caregivers, providing insight into how to support emotional growth and understanding. This book sends a powerful message that emotions are a normal part of life and that it is okay to feel them. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and believe every family should have a copy to read and return to often. I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and Teacher Created Materials.

Title: I like this title, it feels like it takes a negative and turns it into a positive – which is somewhat similar to what the story does. Takes "scary" or "negative" emotions and makes me "okay" by learning how to feel, recognize and soothe them in a healthy way.

Story: This book does a phenomenal job at empowering children to understand emotions, how they impact the body and how you can use and learn the signs by being in-tune with yourself, to identify them early on to take control.

The progression used of: experience/trigger>change in her body she notices/feels>what those clues mean she's feeling>idea as to how she can support herself or soothe the anxiety.

It also shows her finding comfort and empowerment with trusted adults in her life to openly talk through her anxieties and come to a logical resolution that relieves her woes.

I appreciated that each emotion received it's own time to arise by an incident, additional examples outside of the stories power outage to help children see multiple ways this might be impacting them so they can relate and understand the emotion, then is given a few ways to resolve, soothe or reshape into a positive (such as playing hide and seek) – and that it then devolves into positive emotions as well, such as surprise or warmth of a comforted content snuggle with her grandpa.

The prompts through out to help provide conversation points to engage the children in the story and learning are great – I think it would be really nice if there were also some to help the child to reflect on "what's something that helps you feel comfort when you're scared" so that the children aren't solely focusing on the feeling, but also on using the tools to soothe it in a healthy way as well so they are putting both tools from the story together, not just one.

Writing: I thought the writing style and descriptors given were great and age appropriate. They provided clear and relatable feelings that a child might identify with and be able to understand to then use the tools the books attempting to provide and exhibit.

I also thing the story is broken up in very digestible bits per page and step in the process. I didn't ever feel that there was too much on a page/spread or being shared at one time for a child to process, grasp and prepare to progress into the next page.

Illustrations: The illustrations are okay. I would like them to have a bit more life and variation. It would be a nice touch to see color used as a visual cue within the story as we go in and out of the "scary" emotions to see the positive outlook it provides–so maybe in the moments we reflect on being scared it's more muted in aesthetic, but then as we are comforted or soothed the illustration is more lively. That would be such a nice addition to the story.

Overall: It's very well written and executed. I would purchase this for any of my friends who have a child between 3-9 to help them not only share a story that helps their child understand their emotions and how to navigate them, but also themselves as parents to successfully engage with their child and their "scary"emotions in a healthy and strong way as well.

Thank you NetGallery for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A really cute and beautifully illustrated children’s book about the importance of honouring our emotions, and loving family who support us through it. I also loved the end where there are suggestions for helping to calm down when we’re struggling. As a Mama of 3 kids - including a baby and two with diagnosed Autism - self-regulation and aided regulation are so important. Adored reading this to my son.

The story demonstrates how important it is to be able to recognize one's own emotions, such as joy, fear, or surprise, and to develop empathy towards the feelings of others.

The book is richly illustrated with cute and vibrant pictures that visually convey different emotions, making them easier for young readers to understand.

It serves as a valuable tool for parents and educators looking to help children connect with their own emotions and teach them how to find common ground with others. Overall, the book is informative, interactive, and engaging for children, providing them with useful knowledge they can apply in their lives.

Helping little ones turn big feelings into manageable moments!

I Know Scared is a thoughtful and practical children’s book that helps young readers identify and manage emotions like fear, worry, and surprise. Through relatable scenarios—like a power outage during a storm or a cracked window after a tree falls—a young "feelings detective" learns to recognize emotional clues in herself and others. The book’s comforting strategies, like deep breathing and seeking support, make big feelings more manageable. With its engaging illustrations and hands-on approach, this story is an excellent resource for building emotional intelligence in kids.

Thank you to Lindsay N. Giroux and Teacher Created Materials for the eARC!

Wow, I wish I had this book when I was a child. This is an amazing resource for bodily awareness of our emotions, highlighting scared, worried, and surprised. I love how with each emotion there is also one form of coping with that emotion. I was especially grateful for the last few resource pages for parents discussing how to further engage with the children reading this book and their emotional health development. Will be getting this book for my nephews!