The little girl has always known that she had a little secret friend called Fear; they help each other keep safe when in danger from a barking dog or going too near the edge of a building. Fear also helps with things like possible monsters under the bed. But since the little girl’s move to a different country, her friend Fear ‘keeps growing and growing’. The little girl would like to explore her new world, but Fear says ‘no’. When she must go to school, Fear doesn’t want her to, and while there, Fear won’t let her play with the other children, and she can’t understand anything they say. Fear has become enormous by now, and rather than friendly, seems intimidating. She eats everything while the little girl has lost her appetite, and at night Fear’s ‘loud dreams’ keep her awake. It is only when a boy at school shows the little girl a picture that she (and Fear) start to become a little less afraid, and while playing in the playground with the boy, she realises that the boy’s fear of a dog means that he has a friend called Fear as well. In fact, everyone in the class does, and soon the little girl’s Fear is getting back to normal size, a fluffy white blob of a friend who is not intimidating at all. This is a remarkably original idea with illustrations that tell the story quite as much as the text does. One must ‘read’ them thoroughly to get the whole of the story, and they are completely enthralling, simple but highly effective.