The Fear by Tom Palmer & illustrated by Robin Boyden

The Fear is an absolutely brilliant book for helping young people recognise and cope with anxiety. Kian used to love playing football but an experience with a tough coach who delighted in making his players feel small created “the fear” inside him. When this anxiety takes over, Kian is terrified of doing something wrong and letting down the entire team.

When his good friend Azeem wants to go to the trials for a local team, Kian can’t face it. He’ll happily kick a ball around in the park but there’s no way he can join another team. With some encouragement from his mum, Kian agrees to go along to support Azeem because he knows how important it is to him. To his surprise, the coach, Steve, is welcoming and friendly. He praises the players and helps them to work together. Steve understands Kian’s anxiety and helps him through it, finding confidence, strength and the value of a team.

The friendship between Kian and Azeem is a very special part of this story. Azeem and his dad arrived in the UK from Afganistan via a refugee camp in Pakistan. Azeem’s dad had worked as a translator for the British Army and was promised his family could move to England. When this promise was broken, Azeem and his dad left his mum and sister behind to find a better life for them all. Kian recognises the hardship Azeem has gone through and is willing to risk his own well-being to support his friend.

The Fear highlights the responsibility held by all adults who work with children, building them up and helping them understand themselves. This is a call for all of us to be like Steve with positive challenge, calm understanding and a safe place to make mistakes.

Barrington Stoke can always be relied on to create entertaining, meaningful, empathy-filled stories that are accessible and empowering for readers. With dyslexia-friendly font, spacing and page tint, everyone can enjoy these books. The manageable length and carefully chosen vocabulary encourages success and brings children back for more.

Click on the covers below to find out more or purchase online:

Bookshop.org:

Amazon:

Books by Kate Heap:

Disclosure: If you buy books using the links above, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org whose fees support independent bookshops. As an Amazon Associate, Scope for Imagination earns from qualifying purchases.