This charming book about courage and caring stars a little girl accompanied by an enormous lion, whose very presence gives her strength to do hard things at is, until the lion himself becomes a scaredy-cat. The lion helps the girl face up to nerve-racking situations like apologizing for drawing all over the bookshelves with her crayons. Exuberant watercolor-pencil-and-ink illustrations mirror the lion's wild gold-and-red mane with the girl's black hair and comically show the duo's closeness through details like having the scrunched-up lion ride on the back of the girl's bike. When the pair visit a new, "rocket-fast" slide at the playground, three double-page spreads, each showing parts of the slide's steep ladder, are devoted to the terror the girl feels while climbing up. At the top, she realizes her lion is actually afraid, too, and decides to be brave for her lion. Hand in paw, together they jubilantly conquer the slide, over and over. Fun and relatable.

Where do you find your courage?A brown-skinned child sings the praises of their constant companion, a lion who helps them speak up when they feel shy or nervous and protects them late at night, when things look scary. Today, the two of them are planning on trying out a new, "rocket-fast" slide at the playground. Followed by the lion, the child climbs the tall ladder, hands getting sweatier and feet wobblier. At the top, panic sets in-what if they're stuck there forever? The child realizes the lion is just as scared and quickly determines that this time, they have to be the brave one. They hold their lion's paw, take a deep breath, then count down and…slide! It's so much fun that they do it again. This is a great primer for building self-esteem and helping young children and their adults grapple with overcoming obstacles. Meza recognizes that similar moments will continue to pop up-but the young protagonist and their leonine sidekick are up for the challenge. The visually arresting, predominantly blue and yellow/orange illustrations are full of big, organic shapes that play deftly with perspective and the lion's size. No one ever acknowledges the lion other than the protagonist, so one could interpret the creature as a purely imaginary character. However, the young narrator's self-assuredness is real enough that it doesn't matter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)An upbeat confidence booster. (Picture book. 3-6)