Depending on your point of view and the situation you are in, the author's book tells children about fear. It's a basic human instinct, and although we all have it, each of us is afraid of something different. Fighting our own fears is sometimes harder and sometimes better, and young readers will learn that too. Fear is described here as not only something unpleasant, but also a life-saving natural quality.
Simple illustrations show the life situations in which fear arises, guide the reader and bring the story closer to children who are only slowly becoming familiar with letters. The main characters are called Barka and Vojta, and their fear appears just at the moment when they discover that they are at the edge of the forest after sunset and need to get home. And they figure that if they hold hands and work together and support each other, it might help them get through the crisis. Although the book is aimed at children, its message can reach adults just as well, as it doesn't just show fear as paralysis, but also as a reason to work together.
Author Martina Špinková writes about fear without stereotypes and gently reminds the reader that it affects everyone across generations and genders. Mom, dad, grandma and the little mouse under the bed can have it. She explains to children not only what it means to be afraid, but also how they can try to grapple with a similar feeling and make it a tool that serves reliably when needed but doesn't bother them any longer than absolutely necessary.
Despite the simplicity of the story, however, the writer doesn't slip into superficial solutions and doesn't offer children guaranteed recipes for how to successfully wrestle with fear. She only shows them the possibilities and lets them choose whether to use them.
Aneta Lakomá
Martina Špinková: Divný brach strach. Praha: Cesta domů, 2020.
The review was created at the Department of Journalism of FSV UK under the supervision of PhDr. Jana Čeňková, Ph.D.