The Best Kids Books About Fear
Fear stems from many reasons, from disasters, unstable situations, facing the unknown, and more. I love turning to books as conversation starters when fears and worries start to creep in. Books have a way with words and illustrations to connect to readers and the potential to prompt some excellent conversations and give ideas to try out. This book list helps with facing and moving beyond fear. If you know a kiddo struggling with feeling afraid right now, check out one of today's book recommendations. (I always try to share a variety, so if one book doesn't "click" with your reader, it's okay; try a different one! A good match is out there waiting to connect with your reader.) Best of luck working through those fears popping up; they can be challenging--luckily, books are here to help. Happy reading!
This list is organized by topics with more generalized fears towards the top and more specific fears towards the bottom. It is also sorted by simpler reads towards the top of each topic to help you decide what might be the best fit for your reader.
Fear can tie into many other issues. If you're looking for more helpful book lists in sorting out fear to connect with your reader, please click to connect to one of the following lists:
About Fear
The Fears You Fear
by Rachel Rooney, illustrated by Zehra Hicks
In simple language, this book helps describe what people can fear, facing fears, how fear can be helpful, and how fear will pass in time. Learn more about fear with the reader's note at the back of the book.
A Kid's Guide to Feelings: Feeling Afraid
by Kirsty Holmes
"A Kid's Guide to Feelings" is a series of eight books, each featuring a different Agent of F.E.E.L.S. (Feeling. Every. Emotion. Like. Superheroes!) Each book in the series explains to readers what a specific emotion feels like, looks like, why it happens, what might cause it, good/bad results from feeling that way, and how to help with that feeling. Word usage is simple, thoughts are broken down to be more manageable, and situations depicted are relatable. Fun and informative read designed to help!
Life Doesn't Frighten Me
by Maya Angelou
"Life doesn't frighten me at all." This mantra is repeated throughout the poem written by Maya Angelou for children. Whether there are shadows on the wall, big dogs barking, a new classroom, or more, readers can repeat the mantra and feel resilient and defiant to fears.
Three Ways to Be Brave: A Trio of Stories
by Karla Clark, illustrations by Jeff Ostberg
Divided into three short chapters, this one covers three common fears. In Under Covers: A Thunderstorm, a boy becomes frightened by the loud noises and lightning flashes and heads to his parent's room. Before getting there, he hears crying from his baby sister; together, they calm down and sleep. In Nervous Belly: The First Day of School, a girl's stomach aches, and she doesn't want her Daddy to leave when he drops her off. She feels about to cry when she notices a sad girl beside her. A new friendship changes the day around. In Got the Jitters: Checkup Day, a boy feels nervous waiting for the doctor and then hearing there will be a shot. The nurse teaches him to use his brain to ease the pain. All chapters are told using rhyming two to four simple worded sentences.
When I Feel Brave
by Britta Teckentrup
"With every small step, your courage will grow. Trust in yourself, wherever you go."
A child is seen running, hiding, surrounded by shadows with fear growing while describing their feelings and experiences with having a big fear. Eventually, when they turn to face their fear, strength, and courage emerge, flipping the perspective.
As Brave As a Lion
by Erika Meza
A young girl feels she can do anything with her lion by her side. Her lion helps her find her voice and encourages her to be brave. That is until her lion is afraid to try the new high playground slide. Can she help boost his courage?
Finn is afraid to leave his attic for trick-or-treat. There are loud humans, trees, butterflies, the color orange, and flying. His stomach twists in knots, his hands sweat, and he feels frozen when afraid. His family brings back treats to share, but when Finn's favorite Chocolate Bats are gone, he promises to fly with his family next year and face his fears to be able to eat as many Chocolate Bats as he wants. Finn takes a slow and consistent approach to facing his fear of flying, taking little steps to get closer to his goal of flying. Great strategy shared for facing fears!
Even Superheroes Get Scared
by Shelly Becker, illustrated by Eda Kaban
The superheroes are back in this latest addition to the fun SEL series! Superheroes and SEL, yes, please! Who better to show kids various feelings than superheroes who are stereotypically supposed to be tough always?! If superheroes can have big feelings, so can regular people. This makes a great series to try with kids resistant to big feelings. Plus, with its humor, it makes a fun read-aloud.
Why Are We Afraid?
by Fran Pintadera, illustrated by Ana Sender
After losing power from a thunderstorm, Max asks his dad if he has ever been afraid. He tells Max that he has, and everyone is sometimes. Max's father talks about the fear of the unknown, shadows, losing what we love, and more, each described in a sentence or two. I love the "Shining a Light on Fear" note in the back that includes activities to do together.
Fear of the Dark
Brave Squish Rabbit
by Katherine Battersby
Squish is an adorable little rabbit with big fears. He's scared of storms, chickens, and especially the dark. When he can't read the sign his friend Twitch left him, and darkness arrives, Squish musters up all his courage and prepares to venture out into his fears to help find his friend. What he finds on his brave adventure helps calm his fears and makes him feel like a big rabbit—a super sweet short story for younger kids on dealing with fears with humor and friendship throughout.
Orion is most afraid of the Dark. After trying many solutions, nothing seems to work. Frustrated, Orion yells at the Dark to go away. The Dark responds by coming into his room and offering to help Orion stop being afraid of him. The Dark is friendly and patient as it helps Orion bravely spot all the frightening sounds and his worries. Super sweet, and love the cutouts of Dark, such a cute read!
The story starts a little spooky, with Laszlo scared of the dark. I think this pulls in readers because it's so relatable. "The dark" is personified in this story, even so much as having a creaky voice and living in the basement. Laszlo always carries his flashlight and has a nightlight. Laszlo thinks if he says hi to the dark every day in the dark's room, the basement, the dark won't visit him in his room. One night, however, it does, and Laszlo has an experience that starts frightening but ends up easing some of those fears of the dark. I like the perspective changing going on with this story. It instills that bit of fear that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, wondering what will happen. The end is peaceful and warm.
Fear of Storms
I Am the Storm
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell
"Nature is strong and powerful. But, you are strong and powerful, too."
This book highlights four intense storms: a tornado, a blizzard, a wildfire, and a hurricane. For each storm, the text briefly describes what the storm is doing, where the kids experiencing the storm are, and what they do when the storm stops. I love the vocabulary here, worded clearly and simply, with repeat messaging that the storm will stop, as storms always do. This book validates that it's okay to feel scared of storms and reminds you that you are strong and powerful, too. For each storm, a child is shown staying safe during the storm and facing the aftermath. The aftermath of each storm shows some minimal damage but nothing too extreme. The back of the book features paragraph descriptions telling more about each of the four types of storms in this book. Lovely resilience read to check out!
Booma Booma Boom
by Gail Silver, illustrated by Lisa Fields
"Thunder's just the clouds talking to the earth." A child helps their scared stuffies on a stormy night by talking to them about the storm and ways to be less scared.
Way Past Afraid
by Hallee Adelman, illustrated by Karen Wall
Van becomes afraid when an intense storm brews while sleeping over at his Grammy and Pops's home. The dark sky, lightning, and big thunder booms leave Van feeling way past afraid. When the power goes out and his sister Abbi is afraid now, too, what will they do? It's a fun way to work through the scariness of storms and being way past afraid.
Fear of Water
I'm Terrified of Bath Time
by Simon Rich, illustrated by Tom Toro
So incredibly silly and fun, it's sure to delight readers and ease the fear of bathtime for both tub and human!
Jabari has passed his swimming tests and spends the day at the pool with his dad and little sister. He feels definitely, well, almost ready and not at all scared to jump off the diving board for the first time. He just needs to figure out his special jump, do some stretches, and talk with his dad first. This story is about working up the courage to do something that may seem a little scary the first time; maybe your little one is ready to take that first leap off the diving board in the summer, or maybe they are about to do something for the first time, school, a night away from mom and dad, whatever the reason, this would be an excellent book to share. His father lets Jabari decide what's right for him but is ready to offer support when needed.
Fear of Monsters
Owl has always dreamed of becoming a knight, and now, with a need for knights since so many have gone missing, he finally has his chance. Owl uses his nocturnal instincts to help hold guard during the Knight Night Watch. But when a terrifying intruder shows up, will Owl have what it takes to defend the castle?
After reading a scary book about monsters under the bed before bedtime, Milo can't sleep. Milo signs back and forth with his neighbor Mel, who figured out how to scare monsters instead of monsters scaring her. Love the friendship and problem-solving in this to help conquer a common fear.
This book is not specifically focused on fear but has potential for some great conversations about bravery, change in perspective, and more. The Vasylenko family, complete with twelve children named after the twelve months, all love the outdoors. Well, all except Oktober, that is. Oktober prefers to stay indoors, adventuring through books. While his siblings dreamed of wild things and places, Oktober was worried about a monster called the Wilderness. When they all go out for the day exploring, Oktober chats with his parents about his concerns, and they are supportive, helping him talk through things. However, when Oktober gets lost, will he find the Wilderness? And if he does, will it be as scary as his thoughts have led him to believe?
This wordless picture book follows the journey of Molly. Molly uses small acts of bravery and the power of friendship to get the monsters who follow in the shadows to leave her alone. The monsters are like shadows and only mildly scary. I love the idea of a wordless book about fear for readers because it leaves the story more open to interpretation and conversation starters.
Social Anxiety
After a move to a new apartment in a new city, a young girl would rather play by herself than have a playdate; in fact even story time at the bookstore ends in tears. Everything changes when they adopt Millie, an outgoing and loving new dog. Millie helps the young girl open up and make a new friend.
Fear of Bugs
For the reader afraid of spiders, check this one out! Full of facts and done humorously with fun illustrations, this book is designed to lessen the fear of spiders. I love this approach for some fears. If your reader is facing another bug or animal-specific fear, learning more about that item can help lessen the fear, so be sure to check out some nonfiction on the topic of concern.
Readers afraid of bees, check out this companion book to I'm Trying to Love Spiders. Humor and facts combine to help readers understand more about bees and tamp down that fear of bees.
Fear of the Unknown
An Unexpected Thing
by Ashling Lindsay
Fred is afraid of everything, so when "The Spot" shows up unexpectedly, he imagines all the awful things that could happen. On the other hand, Cece loves exploring, and when she spies "The Spot," she knows she has to go check it out and find out what wonderful things could happen. Can Cece change Fred's point of view? Will Fred face his fears?
A girl is scared to leave her home and works to find her bravery. She seems too small in a too big world. She remembers previous hard times in her life. On her road trip to move, she focuses on finding her light within and building it up. Her light grows as her journey continues, remembering previous successes from hard times. She feels brave and ready to face her new experience when she reaches her destination. The illustrations change from dark to light as the story progresses, helping to tell the shift in emotions. Sweet and uplifting read, perfect for the new beginnings life brings us. This book makes a lovely read to help calm nerves and prepare to face the unknown.
Will I be okay when there's a thunderstorm? Will I be okay if I get stung by a bee? Will I be okay if someone doesn't like me? Will I be okay if you die? Both big and small concerns of a child are brought up in today's book. The mother lovingly and thoughtfully addresses each question presented by the child. This would be great to share to spark conversations about different worries!
Ups and downs, life and its new adventures can be scary, especially when facing the unknown. Believing in yourself and trying your best is the most important thing you can do—an encouraging read for trying new experiences.
Fear of Scary News
When devastating news hits, the adults act differently, talking in whispers and it is scary to a child observing. When her teacher tells the class to look for helpers during upsetting times, she decides she wants to help her community in as big a way as possible. Eventually, she sees that even one small act of kindness can make a difference.
A more thorough look at understanding scary news, this nonfiction is best shared between adults and readers. It is meant to help kids understand and process the news, noting how it may be sensationalized to get attention or how it might be presented, making it look like something happens more often than it does. Activities and strategies are shared to help readers learn more and work through strong feelings. A great conversation starter!
Really BIG Fears
Something in Pig's head is scaring him. His friend Horse stays by his side and talks with him about it, offering ideas like going for a bike ride or dressing silly to help. Eventually, Horse comes up with a plan to invite the scary thing to teatime with them. At teatime, Pig's fears of nighttime, being alone, and the scary story at bedtime visit. The whole time Horse stays with Pig, they work to shrink the fears.
Using three Navy SEALs strategies, Bookmark learns how to overcome fearful situations. If you have kids who are super frightened of bugs, ghosts, monsters, etc..., check this book out and maybe try out the strategies Bookmark learns. Bookmark used to get so scared when he would get placed on a frightening page; he would scream, shake, and shout, although no one could hear him stuck between pages. He goes back to school to earn a Special Bookmark Badge to learn from a trainer the rules and tools on how to face scary. Great ideas on how to cope with fears and in a way kids can understand and try out!
Additional Helpful Books For Fears
Not necessarily a direct link to a fear book, but it could be a helpful resource, especially if you have a child who's afraid of strangers or other people. This book acknowledges that while some people do bad things, most are good and want to help.
"Telling someone helps make things better."
If you fall and get a cut, when you tell someone, they help make it better. If you're feeling proud, you tell someone and get a high five. If you are worried about a missing pet, nervous about that first day of school, missing Grandma, or have a secret that doesn't feel right, telling someone can help make you feel better. Simple text and matching illustrations help bring focus to the main point here. Usually, I'm not a fan when messages are this straightforward, but in this case I cannot stress the importance of kids knowing that telling someone when they are struggling can help! This may be the book that helps a child secretly suffering. From large to minor problems, they are not alone; there is help.
