Books like Franklin in the Dark
By Paulette Bourgeois
For the kid who needs a nightlight and a reason why being scared doesn't make them different from everyone else, Franklin's shell full of darkness feels exactly like their own worry. Gentle, reassuring, quietly funny.
A zookeeper spends every day visiting his animal friends — racing the tortoise, sitting with the shy penguin, reading to the owl — until he wakes up too sick to come, and they decide to visit him instead.
A seven-year-old girl flees war in Lebanon and must adjust to a strange new life in Canada, struggling with a language she doesn't understand and everyday moments that suddenly feel frightening.
A young rabbit named Buttermilk walks home in the dark, terrified she sees a dragon, a bear, and a banshee lurking in the shadows around her.
A young turtle gets ready for a Halloween party with his friends, but his excitement turns to worry when he becomes convinced a real ghost has shown up.
A boy decides it's time to face the nightmare that lives in his closet each night, armed only with a toy gun and his own nerve.
A young raccoon witnesses something terrible and tries to forget it, but worry, bad dreams, and anger follow — until a counselor named Ms. Maple helps him talk about what happened.
A boy finds a penguin at his door and rows it all the way to the South Pole to return it, only to discover the penguin was never lost — just lonely.
A quiet polar bear just wants to read, write, and think in peace, but a chatty goose keeps talking and talking beside him — can two such different creatures really be friends?
A young bear and his father head home through the snowy woods after a long walk, but strange sounds along the way make Little Bear afraid until Big Bear helps him feel safe again.
A wave sweeps ten rubber ducks off a cargo ship, scattering them across the sea to meet a dolphin, a whale, and other creatures, while the last little duck drifts alone until nightfall.
A boy who's passed his swim test insists he's ready to jump off the diving board, then finds himself stalling with stretches and stories while working up the nerve to actually do it.
When an enormous black dog appears outside the Hope family home, every family member panics and hides — until the youngest, tiniest member decides to walk outside and face it herself.
