The book, Shrinking Violet by Laurel Snyder and illustrated by LeUyen Pham is a fun and sweet story dealing with the common themes of fear and bravery. We also have friendship and how that ties into overcoming the fear to be brave. While the themes are not new, the presentation gives things a fresh and clever take. The colors and details are rich, but not “too much” and allow focus on the story. The only real issue I had (since I read this due late March-early April 2026 book as an online reader copy) is that there are pages that are horizontal like a book usually is, but the action needs to be shown in a vertical manner andI really can’t flip my computer screen to the side….
With that being said, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I figured it was going to be too sacrine or take a “I’m okay, you’re okay” mentally and be a bit preachy. That purple and really cute cover made me think that, but of course, do not judge a book by its cover. Yet, yes, the book is sweet and it does not have anything seriously tense, but there is a scary moment or two (spoiler alert: the bird does get hurt, but of course our Violet saves the day). This makes the ages probably at least five and up. I would go up to around 8 or a young 9 due to the themes. Heck, we grown ups sometimes shrink (though not literally) when we are fearful.
I am not off to find a copy of The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Snyder as I have noticed they have several different subjects and genres and this one looks like a good choice for upcoming holiday celebrations.