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Title: Grin and Bear It

Author: Leo Landry

Narrator: L. J. Ganser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-15-12

Publisher: Recorded Books

Genres: Kids, Ages 5-7

Publisher's Summary:

Bear wants to be a comedian. He dreams of performing onstage and making his friends laugh. The only problem is that Bear has stage fright. Performing in front of others makes his knees knock and his fur freeze. Whats a bear to do? Hopefully, with a little help from his friends, Bear can find a way to achieve his goal.

Critic Reviews:

Everyone - Bear, friends and readers - will laugh in the end. (Kirkus Reviews)

...[A] smart message about partnership, ingenuity, and pursuing ones goals. (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Spoiler Alert: In the end, Bear doesn't get ...

Spoiler Alert: In the end, Bear doesn't get on stage ...he sends Bird. I wanted a book about overcoming stage fright, not staying off stage and getting others to do it for you. Otherwise, cute book.

Review from Books That Heal Kids

I've been looking for a book on this exact subject - stage fright. It's easy to find feelings books on fear but difficult to find an actual stage fright plot line. Well here you go - found!

Here's something personal about me - I used to have the WORST stage fright in school. I remember faking sick in high school because I didn't want to give a speech. The people who know me now would probably laugh at that statement because I love talking in front of a crowd. It took me awhile to build confidence and get over that fear....and truly it was the fear of failure.....the fear of embarrassment.....aren't those the worst feelings ever!? So I'm so happy to have this in my library to support those kids who share those difficult feelings that can practically debilitate you.

You'll enjoy this story and your kids will get exactly what they need from it. Bear begins to conquer his fear through peer support and practicing. In the end, his friends read the jokes for him and he appears on stage afterwards to take a bow. I like that he is not FIXED to perfection. Getting over stage fright takes time and takes small steps.

Utterly unhelpful for nervous kids

This is a really disappointing book. I bought it for my 3rd grader, hoping it would give her some ideas about how to work through the (very normal) nervousness she feels when she has to give presentations in class.

Do you see the bear on the cover, standing comfortably at the microphone, gesturing expansively? That image is deceptive. In this book, the solution to Bear's nervousness is to recruit a hummingbird to do his performance for him, because he's too freaked out to do it himself.

Becoming a writer who produces material for other (more confident) performers is a great choice for some funny-but-shy adults, but it's not really an option for a 3rd grader working on a classroom presentation, and it conveys the entirely unhelpful message that some of us are just too nervous to be onstage, which is NOT the message I wanted my daughter to get.

If you're looking for a story about a jolly interspecies comedy-writing collaboration, this is your book. If you're looking for a book that helps kids push through stage fright and develop their ability to speak publicly, keep moving.