Member Reviews

How Big Is Your Brave tells of the story of a little rabbit named Zippy and his quest to be brave. Zippy encourages kids to follow their dreams and to never give up, no matter how hard things may seem. I loved the pictures that went along with the story. Such a good book for families to enjoy together.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Ruth Soukup for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

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This delightful children’s book is due to be released on May 5.

Follow Zippy, the little rabbit, as she shoots for the stars. A great introduction to fear and courage, with friendship and family, as little Zippy learns to be brave and resilient. With endearing illustrations by Alison Friend, this book encourages your child to be brave, take action, look for accountability and problem solve. Zippy provides a great model of following your dreams and trying again after failure.

Although it’s probably aimed at a slightly older child, my 3 year old and I enjoyed it together, and were able to discuss trying new things, and trying again after something doesn’t work out. I look forward to revisiting this book with him multiple times over the coming years.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication in response for my honest opinion.

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This is such a great book for children. I love the encouraging message to follow your dreams even when you are scared. This is something all kids need to hear. It is also wonderful to see a supportive sibling relationship in a children's book.

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This is a cute book about being brave aimed at elementary school aged kids. I read it with my first grader and she loved it. The story is an easy read aloud but could be challenging for early elementary kids to know all the words. The illustrations are fantastic! Overall, we recommend this book!

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Jump into the world of Zippy, the rabbit, as he faces his own fear and blasts off to space camp. The illustrations have vibrant colors, sweet details, and thematic messages that are perfect for young readers. The night time illustrations are breathtaking! This book would be perfect to share with kids when things adon't go as planned. Also, a great resource for kids dealing with anxiety. A great read for all kids!

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We can all use a little brave right now, amirite?

I loved this!

Thank you to Ruth Soukup, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Beautiful illustrations! I could easily incorporate this story into my classroom based lessons on goal setting and facing fears. It would also work with lessons on big problems and levels of reactivity matching these situations. I could also incorporate discussions on having different interests and achieving goals in various ways. Wonderful!

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Little Bookworm Rating: 4/5 Stars

"How Big is Your Brave" by Ruth Soukup is an adorable children's book about how to overcome fears in order to follow your dreams. The story follows Zippy, a young bunny who desperately wants to become an astronaut. She finds out about a "Space Camp" but feels nervous about joining the other animals who look bigger and smarter. Will she face her fear? Will she successfully navigate "Space Camp?"

This book is endearing and inspiring. Soukup creates cute characters that children and adults alike will love. The author takes two to three great pieces of advice and weaves them into the story in a natural and authentic way. Themes of accountability and attitude are well presented and written in a manner that all generations of readers will enjoy.

The one thing that I did not particularly like was the formatting of the book. I found that the text was smaller than it felt like it should be. Most children's books have larger font to allow for an easier reading experience. I would have enjoyed the book more with that minor change. However, overall this book knocked it out of the park! My kids and I both enjoyed the fact that it was about a girl bunny interested in a STEM field! My girls love learning about Outer Space, so it feels like this book was written just for us! We loved it!

Recommendations: Age range will vary for this book. If you have time to explain the more advanced concepts, give it a go with a younger audience. (4-6 years old) Older kids ages 7+ will probably have an easier time understanding the material with less sidebar discussions.

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I received an electronic ARC from Zonderkidz-Books through NetGalley.
Charming illustrations with delightful character expressions. Soukup brings out her theme that being brave doesn't mean not being scared through her storyline. Zippy wants to be an astronaut but is scared to go to Space Camp with the bigger animals. She conquers her fear and discovers how much fun it is to learn and share her interest with others. Her brother Gus supports and encourages her throughout. Soft watercolor statements on bravery back up the story.
May be a bit wordy for the target audience but should be a delightful family read-aloud or library read.

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This is a beautifully illustrated, well-worded book teaching children the importance of bravery, accountability and belief in themselves. Will definitely spread to the younger people in my life!

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This was a lovely story! The illustrations were beautiful and eye-catching and the story had wonderful themes. It teaches a few life lessons about being brave, choosing how to react to situations and perseverance when pursuing your dreams.

There's a good amount of text but the wording is probably too advanced for early readers. I'd say this book would be good for 6/7-year-olds.

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I loved this book! Not only does it talk about being brave enough to follow your dreams - "your why should always be bigger than your fear" - but also touches on the concepts of accountability, courage, action, and control. The illustrations are beautifully done. This would be an excellent addition to any library collection! #HowBigIsYourBrave? #NetGalley

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The illustrations in this new picture book were spot on. They were engaging and kept the interest of my three-year-old grandson. He has a high tolerance for details, but grew bored with the story. So I am landing at about a 3.5 with a 4 for illustrations and a 3 for story.

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The illustrations in this book are great! I would read this book when introducing makerspaces or STEM activities in the classroom. I think the larger text on every few pages helps start discussions with younger readers.

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I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a cute and encouraging book for children to conquer and face their fears. It has some great inspirational quotes in it that are great for children to think about and remember when they are unsure or afraid.
This book encourages children to follow their dreams and has some adorable characters and illustrations in it.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a beautiful story for children. I read this to see if I wanted to get it in the future for my 4 year old nephew (the answer is yes).

This is a story about a bunny named Zippy and her dreams and hopes to travel to space when she's older. She finds out there is a space camp program and, despite her fears and hesitations, joins it.

This is a fantastic book for little ones that shows them to reach for their dreams. There is also a little lesson in the middle on how things can go wrong... but you pick the pieces back up.

The illustrations in this book are AMAZING, even as a grown adult I super loved them and they made me smile! I will definitely be getting this for my nephew in the future.

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How Big is Your Brave by Ruth Soukup.
Publication Date: May 5, 2020

Description from NetGalley...
“In this inspiring story, a young bunny named Zippy dreams of traveling to outer space. When the opportunity to attend space camp arrives, she worries she might not be capable enough to compete with the other kids. But Zippy’s desire to build her own rocket is bigger than her fear of failing, and through hard work and creativity she ends up making her big dreams come true.

How Big Is Your Brave? is a children’s picture book adaptation of her adult book and podcast series Do It Scared. Through whimsical illustrations and encouraging text, children will discover how standing up to fears (both big and small) will make them stronger and unstoppable.”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @zonderkidz for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.

My thoughts...
With encouraging phrases that can turn into your personal slogan such as “You’re why must be bigger than your fear,” this is such a wonderfully illustrated book with a great message for adults and children alike. Generally suited for children who are mature readers because this book is a longer story and has advanced words. But, it’s a great read-aloud story to encourage social-emotional development in children. It’s a book that touches on bravery, resilience, confidence, facing fears and overcoming obstacles. I also think it can be a sweet gift of encouragement to adults.
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A very cute story about a bunny named Zippy who has big dreams of going to space, but she also struggles with a lack of confidence and a fear of failure.
The way that certain inspirational sentences from the story were added into some the backgrounds was a nice touch. I also enjoyed the way the story talked about courage, how it's okay to be scared, and how to overcome that fear. A great message, beautiful illustrations, and a quick, simple story.

I would definitely recommend this to children who are struggling, or just as an overall lesson on perseverance.

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A wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated children's book about overcoming your fears to follow your dreams. This is a great book that talks about encouragement, helping build confidence, and to keep persevering, even when obstacles come your way. Perfect story time book!

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This was such a lovely story. Zippy wants to go to space camp but is afraid, but with the help of her family she overcomes that fear and some challenges. This is a great book for children starting a new school and also about following ones dreams.
#HowBigIsYourBrave #NetGalley

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