A Story for All Children, Including Those with Anxiety Or Selective Mutism.

I loved reading this book about bravery, it’s a great kids book that’ll inspire little ones to allow their bravery to grow! For my parent friends, or even those who teach or give care, this book would be great for them to read!

Rating • 5 💫

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of Bravery Grows by Dr Melissa Giglio and Daisy Geddes in exchange for a honest review.This is a great book that helps children and their parents deal with and overcome select mutism by offering great strategies.This wonderful rhyming story is about a little girl who can’t find her voice to talk to others and engage in school because she suffers from anxiety but with help from parents she is able to find her voice.Great read for preschoolers.

This was a really colorful book that tackled social anxiety, selective mutism and shyness, and would be a great story for families that struggle with those issues. I really liked the methods they used to help, and would definitely suggest this in readers' advisory. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

The only way I can think of describing this book is strong and inspiring.

Reading this was like reading my childhood diary. The only difference was that I went to school in the early 90s when mental health was not really important.

I think this is a must for parents of children with selective mutism and for classrooms everywhere. I wish it was available to me in 1993

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

I've read a lot of wonderful children's books through NetGalley, but this is the first I've come across that is specifically designed to help children with and caregivers of selective mutism.

The writing is really great with an incredibly expressive, grounded, and compassionate approach and the art artwork is cute and colourful.

The information and advice for caregivers at the back is a really nice touch.

This seems like it could be incredibly helpful and is putting some goodness out in the world.

Wonderful stuff!

An encouraging story about bravery and a wonderful example of how to be brave. I loved the story, the encouraging family and illustrations were bright and easy to understand!

This is such a neat book about learning to find ones own voice and stepping outside of our comfort zones. I loved the illustrations and thought they were fun and very easy to tell the flow of the story through. I really enjoyed reading this one to my littles and discussing with them their brave voices. I think that this is a great addition to any home library!

Bravery Grows is a hopeful and affirming story of a young girl who experiences selective mutism. Over the course of the book, we see her bright and bubbly personality when she's at home, where she feels her most brave self. When she heads to school or the park, we see her struggle to use her brave voice and speak. After taking her time and practicing, our main character finds her voice and shares how brave she is! This is a bright and colorful book for any young reader.

This is a wonderful story about a younger girl with selective mutism who is working to grow her bravery. We see how the girl feels brave at home, where she can be loud, outgoing, and brave. She works with her parents to grow her bravery in talking to others.

A wonderful addition to any school or classroom library to show a different perspective.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

From the cover I expected this to have something to do with plants. I get what they were going for with the ‘growing’, but it would have been cool, and tied in better, if there had been some kind of nature-growing through the book, even if it was just in the background. Other than that minuscule thing, everything about this book was amazing. The illustrations were engaging and fit the book so well.
This book is full of wonderful examples of acceptance without avoidance. The levels of support and the ways the parents support their child’s selective mutism is heart-warming and beautiful.
I think the best lesson from this book is that by acknowledging and accepting where their child is currently at in the process of dealing with mutism, the parents can best find ways to validate and support their child. Once this has happened, parents can find ways to help the child progress in a way that will be sustainable long-term and be less likely to regress in a way the child might if they were forced to do things that made them feel overwhelmed, alone, or broken.
As someone who still struggles with selective mutism even as an adult, this book gave me a lot of hope for future generations and made little-me feel seen and cared for.

Bravery Grows is the best children’s book I have ever read related to Selective Mutism. This is such a gem of a book for children, parents and educators alike. This book gently explores how this diagnosis affects children who suffer from it. I appreciated that the parents in this book modeled how a parent of a child with Selective Mutism might approach working on this with their child. Including the gentle approach they took with her than did not include shaming, frustration or forcing.
I particularly liked the guide for caregivers at the end of the book and the accompanying diagram to help caregivers better understand the condition.

A child so confident at home, able to show her spark and enthusiasm who wants so badly to be the same out in the world but finds herself shrinking inside. Her anxiety and self doubt stopping her. Her parents are kind and patient and help her to find coping strategies to make the changes she wants. To help her grow her brave muscle so she can speak out, taking small steps to grow in confidence.

This book is sweet and nurturing, showing that it's both ok to be this way and then a way to overcome it if that's what the child would like. It helped to open up a conversation with my autistic son who sometimes has this very issue. We enjoyed it very much and I think it will be one we revisit

Bravery Grows is a delightful children's story highlighting anxiety and selective mutism. The story is thoughtfully and gently told but has a sweet, vibrant energy. Through vivid illustrations and lilting pose, Bravery Grows wonderfully shows that bravery isn't always brash or bold, but can often be quiet and even reserved. The story easily conveys that quiet bravery is perfectly acceptable and should be just as celebrated.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Melissa Giglia, Daisy Geddes, and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the opportunity to read. All opinions are my own.

I liked that the emphasis was on practising new skills and trying again even if it doesn't work right away. I think the advice for caregivers at the back is great too. For me it felt like there was a slight lull in the middle of the story and my kid started to loose a bit of focus

This book is way too long. It feels interminable. I liked it in the beginning, but then it started reaping the story with minor differences. The author does okay rhyming, but they try so hard a cadence is lost. This book still needs time to grow.

This was the perfect read for my child who lacks confidence and is shy in new environments! While she doesn't have selective mutism, it touches upon feelings of anxiety for kids in new environments such as school or the playground. I love how the child is self-regulating while the mom and dad gives her time to process her feelings and support her. My only complaint would be the font choice. My 6 year old had trouble with the curves on the font of the bold words. If you want to encourage independent reading for young readers, I would recommend swapping this font out for something that is more legible.

I loved this. Whether it's due to selective mutism, social anxiety, or just anxiety in general, I think this could be a wonderful book for those dealing with these issues, as well as other children so they may see why other kiddos might be a little more quiet. It was relatable to how I was as a child with anxiety and I think having something that reassures it's not just you is great. I also appreciate it showing different way caregivers can assist and has a page or so in the back as well for those caregivers with additional information. Lastly - I really liked the art of this.

This one was so beautiful and so informative about anxiety when it comes to speaking and selective mutism! The story was engaging and the artwork was adorable! I loved the approach in the story from the parents! Overall, this one was so informative with a selective mutism guide in the back pages.

I initially thought this was just a cute story with a great lesson—but it turned out to be so much more. The artwork is sweet and engaging, and it’s the perfect book to read with a child. I didn’t know much about selective mutism before reading this, but the tips, resources, and gentle guidance offered throughout are incredibly helpful. I really appreciate how the story not only normalizes the experience but empowers both kids and adults to approach it with understanding and compassion. Hopefully I’ll get to share it with my niece soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this lovely book.

With delicate illustrations that bloom across the pages, this gentle story nurtures the idea that courage isn’t loud—it’s growing quietly in your heart. It’s a beautiful blend of emotional truth and visual poetry.