The big slide

Kirk (Library Mouse series) puts his latest hero, a scrappy-looking mutt in overalls, in an urban playground with a steep red slide. The first view of the slide is harrowing, angled from the bottom with Little Pup teetering at the top. He really wants to go down that slide and spends all spring wondering if he can climb it. In summer, he gets to the top, only to panic and climb down. This is where a kind of exposure therapy comes in, with his mom helping him navigate the smaller slide of his building's concrete banister and making a tiny cardboard slide for his toys. When Little Pup returns to the looming slide in the fall, a friend asks him to go down together. Their mutual support helps them conquer it. The illustrations give Little Pup's crisis oomph by contrasting the muted colors of the background with the deeply saturated red slide. A charming story that shows how tiny steps of repeated exposure, visualization, modeling, and practice can help kids overcome their fears.

Little Pup screws his courage to the sticking place at the playground. All spring and summer and into the fall, Little Pup and his mom visit the playground. Each time, he gazes longingly at the big slide, which he's not brave enough to attempt. His supportive mother never pressures him, leaving the timing to him. Twice he tries the slide, once escaping the line at the bottom, the second time making it to the top only to climb back down again, the other anthropomorphized animals clearing the ladder for him. Mom helpfully suggests using the concrete stair edge of their apartment building as a slide--she'll hold his hand. This is fun, and he can even do it without her support. In his room, he makes a big slide for his toys, telling them to "be brave." And after school starts in the fall and Little Pup meets Little Duck, a new school friend, on the playground, he decides that perhaps with Little Duck by his side he can tackle the big slide after all. And so he does, his joy and pride infectious. Kirk's many animal characters are highly expressive in both facial expression and body language, especially Little Pup's eyebrows, and Little Duck is a model of empathy for young readers. The rather muted palette keeps the focus on the characters. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Little readers will find a ready role model here for tackling their own fears. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.