My enormous thanks to Liz Shand at Wisdom House Books for a copy of Emma’s Book of Courage by Emma Lindberg and illustrated by Krystal Smith in return for an honest review. I’ve reviewed several children’s books on Linda’s Book Bag in the past but never one written by a six year old before and I’m delighted to feature it, especially as it is the USA National Children’s Book Week this week.

Emma’s Book of Courage is available for purchase here.

Emma’s Book of Courage

Six-year-old Emma knows that it can be hard to be courageous – but thinks you should try! Courageous means having courage, which is when you’re really, really afraid to try something, but you do it anyway.

Emma shares moments when she’s needed courage, like when she did a backflip for the first time! It was scary, but she’s SO glad she did it. Now, she can’t wait to try new things and wants to help you be more courageous, too! What might take some courage for you to try?

My Review of Emma’s Book of Courage

Emma can be scared, but she has learnt to overcome her fears and have courage.

Before I write my review proper, I had one miniscule concern. When Emma says she’d be willing to go out into the scary woods at night again, it must be made absolutely clear that this will be with an adult!

Emma’s Book of Courage is a lovely children’s book.  Krystal Smith’s illustrations are exquisitely beautiful and thoroughly enhance the writing, making this a visual pleasure as well as a super children’s book.

The writing itself is, unsurprisingly given the age of the author, perfect for the 3-6 age group of children, with a perfect balance of text to illustration so that children can feel a real sense of satisfaction in reading the book independently as well as sharing it with an adult for bedtime reading. I thought the direct question to readers about what scares them could be a fabulous way for discussions to begin so that a scared child wasn’t made to feel inadequate if they had concerns.

I love the range of experiences that Emma’s Book of Courage explores. Emma is willing to try different activities such as rock climbing that children might find challenging, as well as eat new and different healthy foods – a subject that can be tricky for young children so that the book models excellent behaviours. However, what I found most effective was the lovely way in which emotions are explored. Emma’s Book of Courage shows that it isn’t just activities where we need courage, but in our emotions too, being prepared to say sorry, to ask for help, to be nice to others and to respect what our parents tell us.

Emma’s Book of Courage is a smashing children’s book that instills positivity without preachiness in an engaging and entertaining way. I think children and adults alike will be captivated by it.

About Emma Lindberg

Emma Lindberg is six years old and lives in North Carolina. She likes to play tennis and
play with her dogs. Her favorite food is mussels. She has an older brother and older sister. When she grows up, Emma wants to be a dentist.