Reviews
Sunday Telegraph Funday Supplement 10th September 2017
Kid's Book Review
Excerpt: 'This is the new favourite book in my house. Both my four-year-old and two-year-old are obsessed...
The Scared Book is a highly engaging and super fun story for kids. This is the kind of book children fall in love with and request daily. It’s the perfect book to encourage a passion for story time, and it would be a fantastic choice for reading to a group of kids (who I’m positive would thoroughly enjoy taking turns to get rid of the monsters).
With Christmas just around the corner, if you’re looking for a special book the kids will love, I highly recommend The Scared Book by Debra Tidball and Kim Siew.' 2017
Busy Bookworm's 10 best books of 2017
Weekend Notes - article by Brydie Wright
Excerpt: 'As a writer for children, I'm fortunate to be immersed in a world of the imagination and creativity. I read and review a lot of wonderful books for kids and young adults, including works by independent authors. Every so often though, a new release comes along and REALLY stands out. If it captures my imagination, I'll read it to my pre-school-aged son and if he sits still long enough for me to read it, it usually goes on high-rotation at bedtime.' 2017
The Scared Book, written by Debra Tidball and illustrated by Kim Siew (published by Lothian Children's Books), is one such book that has captured our collective imaginations. It's Sydney author has been out and about on the launch trail, making appearances at local bookshops and school events. It was at an Avalon Community Library school holiday reading time session, organised by Beachside Bookshop, that I was introduced to the book's magic effect on kids.'
Margaret Hamilton's Pinerolo Newsletter
'The reader is invited to participate in this interactive book. It’s a fun experience from beginning to end. Bright, clear type and illustrations will involve early readers. '
When I Grow Up I Wanna Write a Kids Book
Excerpt: 'Kids will be clambering for this one.... Now I can't tell you how the books ends, but I will add, there are some tender moments too. It's not all just madness and mayhem.' 16th October 2017
Boomerang Books Blog
Monstrous Mayhem - picture books for Halloween:
Excerpt: 'highly recommended for an entertaining, inspiring and innovative book experience. The Scared Book is cleverly constructed to communicate a range of emotions and strategies with its audience…literally! ... Preschool aged children will no doubt be better off having experienced this highly pleasurable book, becoming intrepid saviours in relinquishing The Scared Book’s, and their own, fears over and over again.'
Books and Publishing Four star review here (subscribe to see it on the website)
"The Scared Book is, as its title suggests, about a frightened book that's been infiltrated by a variety of monsters on its pages and begs for help from the reader to scare them away. Debra Tidball keeps the instructions simple enough for pre-schoolers to join in the action: 'There's a tingle in my spine/can you scratch it for me?', 'Giant butterflies are tickling my insides! Please blow them away' and 'Argh monsters!/Quick, flick them away!'. The range of action words in the book-which also include 'blow', 'shake', 'trace', 'fan' and 'rub'-are good for vocabulary-building and the ending offers readers a sense of achievement, having chased all the monsters away. This is a book that will be read over and over once the little ones understand what they have to do. The monsters themselves are brightly coloured with stripes and spots and many eyes, but Kim Siew's illustrations are more weird than genuinely scary. There's often a large expanse of white space around the pictures and text, so despite all the marauding creatures the book doesn't feel too cluttered. Reminiscent of Herve Tullet's Press Here, this interactive book is a fun reading experience that even reluctant readers won't be able to resist." - Books and Publishing
Just Write For Kids:
Excerpt: "The mixture of enlarged and weaving fonts, and the pacing of the book allows for opportunities to become emotionally invested and understand strategies for self regulation. The book gives readers scope for exploring and addressing their own positive feelings of elation, gratification and pride, and negative feelings of fear or anxiety. The encouraging finale perfectly sums up the wholesome goodness of this story, sure to inspire enthusiastic repeat reads many times over.
The Scared Book is the complete, spine-tingling package for your cheeky little preschool monsters who will relish the elements of humour, quirkiness, surprise, and a dynamic tactile experience. Highly recommended."
Toddler Book Reviews on Instagram
Excerpt: "My 4yo thought it was hilarious and giggled the whole way through it. As the reader, you can really ham this one up and make it a funny experience for everyone involved.I used lots of different voices and brought my A-game of ‘D-grade actress’ to life when narrating this gem! He asked for it again straight after I finished it… always a good sign...
It’s a good book because it puts the child in charge and they have to step up and become the hero to save the book from being scared… which in turn, shows how easy it is to take away the fear of monsters!!"
Educate.Empower. blog:
Excerpt: "The Scared Book by Debra Tidball and illustrated by Kim Siew is a delightfully funny read that not only entertains young readers, it also teaches them about feelings and how those feelings are very normal. Through interaction, children learn that there are easy ways to make those uncomfortable feelings go away if you look at the fun and positive side of life."
Buzz Words:
Excerpt: "The ending empowers the reader, and will no doubt create demand for repeat reads."
Another Book To Read on Instagram
Excerpt: This is a fantastic interactive book which the kids at my storytime loved joining in on. This is the perfect "scary" story for younger readers - they will love 💕 it"
Book Share Time
Speech Pathologist Cecile, from Western Australia gives an analysis of The Scared Book for work with children
Excerpt: 'The fact that children get physically involved with the story on every page makes this the perfect picture book for targeting action verbs. There are so many actions to do together, like ‘scratch’, ‘blow’, ‘flick’, ‘trace’ and ‘fan’.'
Reading Time
Excerpt: 'Cute, quirky, funny and just a tiny bit scary...However, we soon discover that their claws, fangs and multiple eyes can’t hurt anyone.' Reviewed by Grace Nolan
Excerpt: 'This is the new favourite book in my house. Both my four-year-old and two-year-old are obsessed...
The Scared Book is a highly engaging and super fun story for kids. This is the kind of book children fall in love with and request daily. It’s the perfect book to encourage a passion for story time, and it would be a fantastic choice for reading to a group of kids (who I’m positive would thoroughly enjoy taking turns to get rid of the monsters).
With Christmas just around the corner, if you’re looking for a special book the kids will love, I highly recommend The Scared Book by Debra Tidball and Kim Siew.' 2017
Busy Bookworm's 10 best books of 2017
Weekend Notes - article by Brydie Wright
Excerpt: 'As a writer for children, I'm fortunate to be immersed in a world of the imagination and creativity. I read and review a lot of wonderful books for kids and young adults, including works by independent authors. Every so often though, a new release comes along and REALLY stands out. If it captures my imagination, I'll read it to my pre-school-aged son and if he sits still long enough for me to read it, it usually goes on high-rotation at bedtime.' 2017
The Scared Book, written by Debra Tidball and illustrated by Kim Siew (published by Lothian Children's Books), is one such book that has captured our collective imaginations. It's Sydney author has been out and about on the launch trail, making appearances at local bookshops and school events. It was at an Avalon Community Library school holiday reading time session, organised by Beachside Bookshop, that I was introduced to the book's magic effect on kids.'
Margaret Hamilton's Pinerolo Newsletter
'The reader is invited to participate in this interactive book. It’s a fun experience from beginning to end. Bright, clear type and illustrations will involve early readers. '
When I Grow Up I Wanna Write a Kids Book
Excerpt: 'Kids will be clambering for this one.... Now I can't tell you how the books ends, but I will add, there are some tender moments too. It's not all just madness and mayhem.' 16th October 2017
Boomerang Books Blog
Monstrous Mayhem - picture books for Halloween:
Excerpt: 'highly recommended for an entertaining, inspiring and innovative book experience. The Scared Book is cleverly constructed to communicate a range of emotions and strategies with its audience…literally! ... Preschool aged children will no doubt be better off having experienced this highly pleasurable book, becoming intrepid saviours in relinquishing The Scared Book’s, and their own, fears over and over again.'
Books and Publishing Four star review here (subscribe to see it on the website)
"The Scared Book is, as its title suggests, about a frightened book that's been infiltrated by a variety of monsters on its pages and begs for help from the reader to scare them away. Debra Tidball keeps the instructions simple enough for pre-schoolers to join in the action: 'There's a tingle in my spine/can you scratch it for me?', 'Giant butterflies are tickling my insides! Please blow them away' and 'Argh monsters!/Quick, flick them away!'. The range of action words in the book-which also include 'blow', 'shake', 'trace', 'fan' and 'rub'-are good for vocabulary-building and the ending offers readers a sense of achievement, having chased all the monsters away. This is a book that will be read over and over once the little ones understand what they have to do. The monsters themselves are brightly coloured with stripes and spots and many eyes, but Kim Siew's illustrations are more weird than genuinely scary. There's often a large expanse of white space around the pictures and text, so despite all the marauding creatures the book doesn't feel too cluttered. Reminiscent of Herve Tullet's Press Here, this interactive book is a fun reading experience that even reluctant readers won't be able to resist." - Books and Publishing
Just Write For Kids:
Excerpt: "The mixture of enlarged and weaving fonts, and the pacing of the book allows for opportunities to become emotionally invested and understand strategies for self regulation. The book gives readers scope for exploring and addressing their own positive feelings of elation, gratification and pride, and negative feelings of fear or anxiety. The encouraging finale perfectly sums up the wholesome goodness of this story, sure to inspire enthusiastic repeat reads many times over.
The Scared Book is the complete, spine-tingling package for your cheeky little preschool monsters who will relish the elements of humour, quirkiness, surprise, and a dynamic tactile experience. Highly recommended."
Toddler Book Reviews on Instagram
Excerpt: "My 4yo thought it was hilarious and giggled the whole way through it. As the reader, you can really ham this one up and make it a funny experience for everyone involved.I used lots of different voices and brought my A-game of ‘D-grade actress’ to life when narrating this gem! He asked for it again straight after I finished it… always a good sign...
It’s a good book because it puts the child in charge and they have to step up and become the hero to save the book from being scared… which in turn, shows how easy it is to take away the fear of monsters!!"
Educate.Empower. blog:
Excerpt: "The Scared Book by Debra Tidball and illustrated by Kim Siew is a delightfully funny read that not only entertains young readers, it also teaches them about feelings and how those feelings are very normal. Through interaction, children learn that there are easy ways to make those uncomfortable feelings go away if you look at the fun and positive side of life."
Buzz Words:
Excerpt: "The ending empowers the reader, and will no doubt create demand for repeat reads."
Another Book To Read on Instagram
Excerpt: This is a fantastic interactive book which the kids at my storytime loved joining in on. This is the perfect "scary" story for younger readers - they will love 💕 it"
Book Share Time
Speech Pathologist Cecile, from Western Australia gives an analysis of The Scared Book for work with children
Excerpt: 'The fact that children get physically involved with the story on every page makes this the perfect picture book for targeting action verbs. There are so many actions to do together, like ‘scratch’, ‘blow’, ‘flick’, ‘trace’ and ‘fan’.'
Reading Time
Excerpt: 'Cute, quirky, funny and just a tiny bit scary...However, we soon discover that their claws, fangs and multiple eyes can’t hurt anyone.' Reviewed by Grace Nolan