Bo the Brave by Bethan Woollvin. Peachtree, 2020. 9781682631829
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Genre: Picture book fantasy
What did you like about the book? This picture book takes a fairy tale trope where the youngest brother slays the monster, and turns it around: the littlest sibling is a girl and she doesn’t end up slaying the monster – she saves it! Bo’s brothers tell her to stay home when they go off to capture a monster. She ends up going off on her own. Each time she meets a creature, she finds out it’s not really a monster – just your everyday griffin, kraken and dragon minding their own business, and she makes friends with each one. They help Bo find the real monster, which is the missing child of her friend the dragon. And by the end, Bo is bravely going off on adventures to learn about the world’s amazing creatures, with her brothers as helpers. Observant readers will have noticed the “Monster Spotted” wanted poster at the beginning and will see that it wasn’t a dangerous creature, but one that was lost. Beginning and closing endpapers show before and after maps with Bo’s triumphant conquest. The limited color palette and naive comic art lend a retro feel, in keeping with the fairy tale theme. A great story of power to the little sister!
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? Offer this to fans of the author’s other fractured fairy tales featuring strong girls. A good story time title.
Who should buy this book? Day cares, elementary school and public libraries
Where would you shelve it ? Picture books
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Stephanie Tournas, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Date of review: April 3, 2020
Youth Services Book Review 
You must be logged in to post a comment.