Published: 2022
Author: Seth Meyers
Illustrator: Rob Sayegh
Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Humor, Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Storytime, Juvenile
Audience (Grade Levels): K-2
Number of Stars: 4-Stars
Goodreads Link: I’m Not Scared, YOU’RE Scared!
Triggers: Fear, situations of minor peril
Review By: Molly Clark
Publisher’s Summary
When you’re a bear who is easily scared, it’s hard to have friends. Fortunately, Bear has one: Rabbit, who is very brave. One day, Rabbit urges Bear to face his fears and embark on an adventure together. However, things don’t entirely go as planned, and the two friends learn the true meaning of bravery.
Equal parts hilarious and touching, this funny tale of adventure, bravery, and daring rescue will both inspire the adventurous spirit in all of us and make us laugh along the way. With the unfailingly witty voice of one of America’s favorite comedians, Seth Meyers’s debut picture book is bound for hilarity history.
Review
The charm begins with endpapers that look like a map drawn with crayons by a small child. This ‘map’ gives readers a hint about the adventure Rabbit and Bear will have in the story. As the story begins we learn that Bear’s fears impact his hygiene and because of this, he only has one friend: Rabbit. Rabbit is the opposite of Bear in every way. Rabbit is fearless and strong. One morning Rabbit decides that she and Bear are going on an adventure. Obviously, Bear is reluctant and tries to convince Rabbit that reading about an adventure would be safer, but Rabbit prevails.
At each obstacle Rabbit asks, “Bear, are you scared?” to which Bear replies, “I’m not scared, you’re scared.” This repetition makes this a nice participatory read aloud. Bear goes to great lengths to avoid the river, woods, and mountain and ends up admitting that he IS scared and going home when faced with a rickety bridge. He leaves Rabbit at the bridge and goes home to bed. Rabbit finally pushes her luck too far and falls through the bridge. Bear overcomes his fears as he races to save Rabbit. Bear realizes that many of the things he was afraid of weren’t really that scary at all once he allowed himself to try. I think this will be a good read aloud as well as a good story about friendship and bravery. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the author reading the book.
I’ll be honest, I did struggle with the idea that Rabbit is hanging on to the bridge for the amount of time it would take Bear to come to her rescue. I’m not sure why this is where the limit of my imagination kicks in, but that’s why I can’t give this five stars.
Classroom & Curricular Connections
- Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): This book is a wonderful resource for addressing themes of fear, anxiety, courage, and self-reflection. Bear’s journey demonstrates how acknowledging our fears is the first step toward overcoming them, and how care for others can give us unexpected strength.
- ELA / Story Elements: The structured repetition of the phrase “I’m not scared, you’re scared” provides a perfect opportunity to teach predictive language patterns, rhythm, and dialogue in primary grades.
- Friendship: The story provides a natural starting point for discussing peer dynamics, contrasting personality types (the cautious thinker vs. the bold adventurer), and how differing friends can support each other.
- Participatory Read-Aloud: Divide the classroom into two groups during a library read-aloud—one group plays the inquisitive Rabbit, asking “Bear, are you scared?”, while the other responds in chorus as Bear, “I’m not scared, you’re scared!” to build engagement and active listening.
Readalikes
- Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
- The Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner
