VOOKS - I Am (Not) Scared
About This Story
The book opens at an amusement park. Two fuzzy friends are standing in front of a roller coaster. One of them is excited. The other one is hanging back. The text on the first spread sets up the whole read aloud. “Are you scared?” “I am (not) scared.” One of them is scared. The other one is not. The one who is not scared is going to spend the rest of the read aloud trying to make the roller coaster sound small by listing much scarier things.
This Vooks animated read aloud is built around a back-and-forth pattern, which is what makes it work for the preschool and early kindergarten crowd. The one who is not scared names something scarier. Hairy spiders. Aliens. Fried ants. The one who is scared of the roller coaster starts laughing. The one who was not scared is suddenly less sure of himself. The pattern repeats across several spreads, with each new scary idea more ridiculous than the last. By the middle of the book, both friends are laughing instead of worrying, and the roller coaster has become a small thing next to all the giant scary things they have been trading.
The last spread is the roller coaster ride. The friend who was scared of it is suddenly the one having the most fun, arms up, mouth open, laughing. The friend who was brave all along is suddenly the one with his eyes shut, hanging on for dear life. The turn is the read aloud’s small joke on the audience — kids who have been watching the brave friend feel smart for being brave themselves are suddenly looking at the scared friend having more fun.
The book ends with a single sentence on the last page. Being scared is not as scary when you have a friend next to you. That sentence is the read aloud’s small piece of emotional education, and it is the kind of sentence that lands for kids who are scared of the dark, scared of the roller coaster, or scared of the first day of school. The whole read aloud takes under five minutes, but it does more emotional work than most books twice its length.
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What Happens in the Story
The book is structured almost like a tennis match — one friend serves up a scary idea, the other friend returns it, and the rally goes back and forth across several spreads. The first scary idea is the roller coaster. The friend who is scared of the roller coaster does not want to it. The friend who is not scared starts listing much scarier things. Hairy spiders are scarier than roller coasters. Aliens are scarier than hairy spiders. Fried ants are scarier than aliens.
The back-and-forth is fast. By the third or fourth spread, kids are anticipating what scary idea comes next. By the fifth spread, the friend who was scared of the roller coaster is laughing, and the friend who was not scared is suddenly unsure of himself. The pattern is what gives the read aloud its energy. Kids who would normally lose a a five-minute read aloud hold their attention through the pattern, because they are waiting to see what the next scary idea will be.
The last few spreads land on the roller coaster ride itself. The friend who was scared of the roller coaster ends up being the one having the most fun. The friend who was brave all along ends up being the one holding on with his eyes shut. The read aloud ends on the line, “Being scared is not as scary when you have a friend next to you.” That line is what gives the book its lasting value. It is the kind of line that kids repeat to themselves when they are scared of something real.
Why It Works for Family Read Aloud
The first thing parents notice is that the read aloud is fast. The back-and-forth pattern keeps every page turning quickly. There is no slow build. There is no narration voice. There is just one friend saying a scary thing, and the other friend laughing. A tired parent can read this book without losing the thread.
The second thing parents notice is that the read aloud lets kids pick a side. By the second or third spread, kids are saying the scary ideas out loud with the friend who is not scared. They are laughing at the friend who is scared of the roller coaster. They are anticipating the next scary idea. The read aloud turns into a call-and-response, which is the kind of read aloud that holds the attention of a wiggly preschooler who is normally done with a picture book after two pages.
The third thing worth pointing out is the final page. “Being scared is not as scary when you have a friend next to you.” That sentence is the read aloud’s small piece of emotional education. It is the kind of sentence that lands for kids who are scared of the dark, scared of the first day of school, or scared of the doctor. The read aloud does not lecture. It just lets two friends figure out that being scared together is a smaller thing than being scared alone.
Who This Book Is For
This read aloud is built for preschoolers and early kindergartners — kids who are old enough to understand the joke about the roller coaster but young enough to find hairy spiders and aliens genuinely funny. It is also a good fit for any child who is starting to feel scared of new things, who has a friend going through the same fear, or who needs a small piece of emotional education before a big event like a first roller coaster or a first day of school.
It is also a good pick for families who have already enjoyed the You Are (Not) Small series and want to add another title to the rotation. The two fuzzy friends show up in several Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant picture books, which means kids tend to recognize them and lean in. If you have a child who can sit through a fast read aloud and and who is starting to ask questions about fear, this is a good first-or-fifth Vooks pick.
Want to see what other picture books about feelings and friendship we have on the shelf? Browse the full list at ourreadingcircle.com/category/feelings-emotions for more read aloud options, or ourreadingcircle.com/category/vooks for the rest of our Vooks animated collection.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is I Am (Not) Scared about?
It is a quiet, funny picture book read aloud about two friends who go to an amusement park. One of them is scared of the roller coaster. The other one tries to make the roller coaster sound small by listing much scarier things — hairy spiders, aliens, fried ants. By the end of the read aloud, both friends are laughing, and the roller coaster becomes a small thing next to all the giant scary ideas they have been trading.
Who wrote I Am (Not) Scared?
It was written by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant, the husband-and-wife team behind the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award-winning You Are (Not) Small series. It was published by Two Lions in 2019.
What age is I Am (Not) Scared for?
It works best for preschool through early kindergarten, which we read as 3 to 5 years. Two Lions catalogs the book for ages 3 to 7, but the back-and-forth pattern and the silly scary ideas make the early end of that range the most natural fit.
Is I Am (Not) Scared good for read aloud?
Yes. The text is short, the pattern is predictable after two or three spreads, and the scary ideas build into a small piece of emotional education. It is one of the easier five-minute read alouds in the Vooks library.
Is I Am (Not) Scared part of a series?
Yes. It is one of the You Are (Not) Small books, which also includes That’s (Not) Mine, We Are (Not) Friends, It is (Not) Perfect, and This Is (Not) Enough. All five follow the same two fuzzy friends and the same short-text, expressive-illustrations format.
Does I Am (Not) Scared help with fear?
Yes — gently. The book does not lecture. It just lets two friends figure out that being scared together is a smaller thing than being scared alone. That is the kind of read aloud that lands for kids who are scared of new things, and that parents can lean on before a first roller coaster or a first day of school.
Where can I find more read alouds like this?
We keep a full category of feelings and friendship read alouds at ourreadingcircle.com — start with the feelings & emotions page for more read aloud ideas, or browse all Vooks animated read alouds for the full animated library.
