Selling points
• SILVER STAR: Illustrator Simone Rea is a recent silver-medal recipient (illustrated books category) from the internationally prestigious Society of Illustrator’s 66th annual exhibit.
• BACK FOR MORE: Author J.F. Sénéchal returns with one of two follow-ups to 2023’s I Wish I Could Tell You, which received praise from The New York Times as well as a School Library Journal Caldenott Award.
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• THERAPEUTIC VALUE: Educators and parents can use this story as an entry point to engage the children in their lives regarding their own conflicts and fears.
• CONVERSATION STARTER: Talking about our fears is never easy, but this book offers encouragement and clear insight into how those difficult conversations can go.
I Will Not Be Scared
Text: Jean-François Sénéchal
Illustrations: Simone Rea
Hardcover with jacket
40 pages
Width: 8.5”
Height: 11”
Ages: 5 to 10 Grade: P-3
Publication date: October 17, 2025
Full-color illustrations throughout ISBN: 9781990252372
Price: US$18.99 CAN$23.99
Fiction
Distributed in the US by Abrams and in Canada by Manda Group
A potent story about the power of talking through our fears to set ourselves free of them.
Our fears can consume the entirety of our lives — unless we find ways to free ourselves of them. As a young rabbit tries to fall asleep one night, kept awake by the trauma of his family’s past life in a war-torn region, he replays scenes in head of an entirely new battle: being attacked by bullies the previous day at school. While his mother tries to encourage him to open up about the incident itself, he hesitates, instead questioning whether he possesses enough courage at all.
It’s only through addressing the root of his fears, a process that is never easy, that he understands how to free himself and move forward.
Other titles by these creators I Wish I Could Tell You (Jean-François Sénéchal, Chiaki Okada - Milky Way Picture Books, 2023), Colette, the Solitary Bee (Jean-François Sénéchal, Pascale Bonenfant - Milky Way Picture Books, 2024)
As the son of two teachers, JeanFrançois Sénéchal grew up around books. After studying anthropology for a time, he ultimately gravitated back to his first love, devoting himself entirely to literature. His stories have garnered him various honors, including the 2017 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, and a Governor General’s Award for children’s literature.
Simone Rea is an accomplished artist and illustrator who creates works for children’s books, magazines, and other publications. A graduate of the Fine Arts Academy in Rome, he has twice been selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition and was awarded a BIB Plaque at theBiennial of Illustrations Bratislava. He lives and works in his home municipality of Albano-Laziale, Italy.
