Brave: Be Ready and Victory's Easy: A Story about Social Anxiety

by Marjie Braun Knudsen

A fifth grade boy, Danny, learns to manage his fears of social situations and criticism. He uses the acronym BRAVE, which stands for "be ready and victory's easy," to plan ahead for difficult... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0981575900
• ISBN13: 9780981575902
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Summertime Press
• Length: 93 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Victory for within

Reviewed by Matthew Feliciano (age 8) for Reader Views (11/08) "BRAVE" is about a boy named Danny. He has trouble with a lot of things at school and with life. He is ten-years-old, but age doesn't matter because he has the same problems a lot of kids have. His problems were that whenever he had a test or something, he either had a headache, or had a stomachache and tried to stay home from school. He got bullied a lot and was pretty much afraid of everything. One day, his teacher said that they had to give a speech and the only way to get out of giving the speech was to win the science fair. Danny was really looking forward to being able to get out of the speech and was certain he would be able to win the science fair. Danny was paired for the science project with the class clown, Jack. Jack invited Danny to come over to his house and work on the project with Jack's grandpa. He doesn't want to go but his mom forces him to because he has trouble making new friends. When he gets there, Jack's grandpa tells him something that helped him a lot. Grandpa tells Danny to be BRAVE: Be Ready and Victory is Easy. Jack's grandpa noticed that Danny was shy and that is why he told him about BRAVE. The characteristics of BRAVE are something that helped Grandpa as a kid and he thinks this will help Danny deal with things. With the technique that Grandpa showed Danny, Danny was able to be ready for tests and other things in life that scared him. For example, he wrote the explanation for BRAVE on a piece of paper to remind himself of what to do. He used this when his brother was being mean and instead of losing his cool, Danny said "So" or "Whatever" and didn't let his brother get to him. The more he used BRAVE, the happier he became. With the technique, he went on to work with Jack and win the science fair. I would recommend "BRAVE: Be Ready and Victory is Easy" by Marjie Braun Knudsen and Jenne R. Henderson, PhD, for anybody who has trouble in their life. I know that I have some struggles that are similar to Danny's and reading this book helped give me a new way to deal with things. This book was written to help and teach kids, but instead of sounding like a grownup telling you what to do, this book read just like a regular story with a regular kid showing the way. Teachers and counselors at schools would also benefit from this book, too. I liked it a lot and am going to bring it to share with my class.

Great book to read with my little boy!

This book was great. My son had many similar fears as the boy in the story, so he was able to relate. This book helped us find something that worked and my son has been able to do many things previously impossible. Would definitely reccommend for anybody with a young child that experiences frequent anxiety.

Where was this book when I was a kid?!

I initially read this book with the eyes of a fifth-grader but the universal message of being prepared for the eventuality of stressful situations and having the tools needed to get through them is a lesson anyone could relate to! Danny is believable as are the situations he encounters. The authors do a great job of covering a multitude of 'worries'; surely any child will recognize theirs in these pages. I sure wish I had these tools when I was a child and I will actually be giving this book to my still-anxious nineteen year old college student to read!

BRAVE: Be Ready and Victory's Easy

Whether opportunistically or with some forethought, people have made and used tools through the millennia. We see evidence of this today in technological innovations that literally have changed the face of the Earth. Yet, we have lagged in developing tools that contribute to what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. The engaging story about a boy named Danny as told in BRAVE makes a contribution to the toolkit for dealing with social anxiety. Danny has challenges in fifth grade, when he learns tools for dealing with both difficult people and uncomfortable situations. He then takes steps to put the tools to use. These are lessons I wish for every child.