- Picture Books
- Ages 5–9
- Comedy
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears
Part of the Emily Gravett universeOpen the collection
A brilliantly designed, funny and slightly anxious picture book presented as Little Mouse's own fear-filled scrapbook. Superb for talking about worries, but better for children who enjoy naming fears rather than those who might absorb new ones.
- Best for5–9
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
- Literary
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Thought provoking
- Warm
- Suspenseful
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Little Mouse is afraid of almost everything, and this book is presented as the big book of fears he has filled in, chewed through and annotated. Each page names a different fear, combining scientific phobia words with collage, jokes, maps, nibbled edges, liftable details and visual chaos. Emily Gravett turns anxiety into something funny, tactile and discussable, making the book a clever tool for children who like to explore worries from a safe distance. It is also a showcase for picture-book design: the pages feel handled, scribbled on and inhabited by Little Mouse. The humour stops it becoming too heavy, but the subject matter needs calibration. Some children may feel relieved to see fears named; others may find the list of possible fears too suggestive. For the right reader, it is funny, smart and unusually useful.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 5–9
- Read aloud · 5–10
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: mental health, scary imagery.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Anxiety
- Fears
- Clever book design
- Visual literacy
- Greenaway winner
Avoid if
- Very suggestible anxious child
- Bedtime only
- Wants gentle reassurance without fear lists
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Nightmares or fears
- Interested in art and creativity
- Low self esteem
In the classroom
How it works in school.
An inventive, interactive book confronting common fears — a clever prompt for talk about worries and for making your own fear scrapbook.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific charm is the chewed corners and fold-outs — the book itself feels like Little Mouse has been nibbling on it. A six-year-old gets to see fears named (loud noises, dogs, baths, the dark) inside a book that's also an art object. Names worries without making them bigger.
- Surviving danger
- Trickery and cleverness
- Transformation
Why parents love it
The picture book that's also a tactile object — chewed corners, fold-outs, scribbled notes, real interaction on every page. Emily Gravett's Kate Greenaway winner. Useful entry to talking about fears without making them feel bigger; better for a child who already has names for their worries than one who'd be suggested into new ones.
- Conversation starter
- Beautiful illustrations
- Shared humour
- Great writing
About the author & illustrator
Emily Gravett.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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