Sometimes We Were Brave by Pat Brisson

Illustrated by France Brassard. 32 p., Boyds Mills, 2010.

When your mom's away, it's hard to be brave. Jerome's mom is a sailor, and she asks him to be brave when her ship goes out to sea. But when she leaves, he doesn't feel brave - he feels sad. Although he misses Mom, Dad takes good care of him and the family dog, Duffy. They maintain their normal routines, and have both happy and difficult times. Jerome looks at a picture of Mom, and makes a book for her, to cope with missing her. Dad helps him to remember that just as he's thinking about Mom, she's thinking about him. Jerome generally copes well, but his experience of stress comes out in occasional bedwetting and getting into trouble at school. When there's a pet show at school, Jerome brings Duffy, who is scared. But Duffy does what he's supposed to do. Jerome's teacher explains to him that because Duffy did what he was supposed to do, even though he was scared, he'd been brave. And Jerome realizes that he, too, has been brave in his mother's absence. Now he can anticipate a joyful reunion with her. Children will find empathy, acceptance, and encouragement in this sensitively-told story.

Ages 4-8
Main character's cultural background: European American
Cultural context: European American