Standing strong in the face of fear, that’s the message delivered by children’s inspiring book find Life Doesn’t Frighten Me.

Powerful words of acclaimed poet Maya Angelou meet the childlike paintings of acclaimed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Sounds pretty amazing, right?

Yes it is, buuuuuuut….

With a name like Life Doesn’t Frighten Me I imagined this might be a good choice to help guide a child facing high anxiety.  Just as with an earlier children’s book I shared, Some Things Are Scary, I may have missed the mark on this one as well.  Sorry folks.

Here’s why.

While Basquiat’s paintings appear as if a child created them, innocent, playful, something that kids can relate to, some images are just plain dark and, well, scary.

If you are looking to introduce your (non-anxious) child to poetry, or to contemporary art, or to reinforce the topic of courage, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me is the children’s book for you.

Just be sure to read it with the lights on.

In the daytime.

With lots of comfort around.

One last heads-up to all you parents and teachers.  The final pages of this book include short biographies of both the author and artist.  You may, as I did, enjoy learning about the colorful lives of these creative and talented people.  However, if you do NOT want your child exposed to some very dark personal tragedies before being old enough to understand, please shut the book before you get there.

That said, I still believe that Life Doesn’t Frighten me is a great tool for opening up a dialogue about internal strength, fear, and courage.