This was a very sweet and heartwarming book, and it helps address what many children go through – autistic ones like the main character, but also those with more general sensory overload or high levels of anxiety – when a situation (even one they're super excited about!) means that they can't have the things that make them feel safe or grounded.

What's especially sweet about this book is that it's less about what the child should do and more about the parents providing support and thinking creatively about how to help their child.

The discussion questions at the end are aimed at children, but I think that it's parents and other adults who should do the most reflecting on this. I think this book is good inspiration to do so!

Since it's a picture book, the art matters as much as – even perhaps more than – the writing. The incorporation of color changes and the switch to greys is very well-done, but the art itself is not my style.

Very cute children’s book with an important message - especially for littles with anxiety. My girls really enjoyed reading this one with me and said they liked it. The are went really well with the the story and the author did a good job making it fun. Overall I think this was done well and would be a great book for most kids.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced electronic copy of this book! I was not paid, nor was I required to post this review.

Beautiful story about a girl with autism who wants to sing and how she deals with fear and sensory issues! It’s was wonderful to see how her family supported her.

Thank you so much to Eleonora Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Lily is autistic and the world is different for her, loud noises, grey moments when her fear takes over and she loves packs of animals and dots. On the day she is to perform with her school choir her senses get too much and she’s scared to go on the stage.

This was sweet, Lily was precious and her parents were really kind and understanding. They made her feel comfortable and understood that she was going to struggle being on that stage. I really liked that she managed to do it even though it was hard and scary.

This is a good picture book, it had really cute illustrations and I loved how it incorporated the animals that she was seeing in her mind as though they were before her. Showing the inside of Lily’s process in each situation with the noises of children playing, the animals, the stage full of eyes I really enjoyed the way it was shown.

It’s a good representation for autistic children and how their mind may process, it’s a sweet and simple story and would a good read with younger children.

Beautiful story. I have very little experience with autism, but this was a very helpful story for families with or without an autistic child. This had really great questions for families after the story. It was a great way to learn about who an autistic child reacts to the world and how being aware can make us better helpers to those around us.

Would recommend to any family with young kids!

A sweet story about a girl who isn't able to wear her bold pola dot outfit to the school choir. While the illustrations weren't my favorite, the story was nice. I loved that it showed how sometimes as a parent you have to get creative when trying to figure out ways to help your children.

Bold & Brave is about a young autistic girl who is going to sing a solo with the school choir. She really wants to wear her red polka dot shirt because it makes her brave and courageous, but she has to wear a different outfit. Instead, to make her more comfortable and brave, her parents get her bright socks that have polka dots and socks on them! When she gets on stage and starts to get scared, she looks up and sees that her parents have matching socks on their hands. It gives her the courage to sing her solo and reminds her that she's part of a wonderful family!

This was a beautiful story about bravery and courage, and about the things that we can do for each other to support one another. The illustrations are so much fun. It's so important for our kids to see themselves represented in books. For autistic kids, this is wonderful representation, and for non-autistic kids, this normalizes and teaches them about something that may be different from what they're used to. Fantastic book for everyone!

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for my honest review on the book!

Bold and Brave is a sweet little book. It shows children what it is like to have sensory overload and shows how using her comforts can help her overcome her fears.

The illustrations were well drawn and the text bold and easy to read. This book would be great to share with my little ones at school.

Thank you for this advanced copy.

Bold and Brave was such a good book for parents to read to their children. It was realistic and easy to read.