Marisol is a little girl with a great imagination -- and one big fear. She loves the large tree in her yard so much that she's named it, but she's too afraid to climb the tree. With the help of her friends and family, can Marisol face this fear?

This is a short and sweet story about a young child learning to face her fears and persevere. I'm sure it's great for the intended audience and the message is, of course, a positive one.

Having read some of the author's middle-grade novels, I guess I was expecting something a little more substantial, but this is fine for the younger audience it's written towards.

I did read this book more than a year ago, so my memories are as sketchy as this review. ( )

Marisol is a girl after my own heart.
I was her as a child, and still am to some extent, because there were things that the other kids would do that seemed so easy, so mundane, so every day ordinary...that I simply could not bring myself to do them. It wasn't about ability most of the time, it was about the big "F" word...FEAR.

Fear of a thing, whether it be a situation, task, person, or object, doesn't just go away and it's not something that has to be justified. It simply IS for that person, and THAT'S OKAY. Facing that fear, whether you overcome it or simply learn to manage it, is what really matters. Knowing that you don't have to be alone with that fear and that there are others that will understand or even know exactly what you're going through is what counts. Marisol is lucky enough to have a best friend, and family that even though she doesn't admit her fear in the beginning...they get it because they get her, and they love her for being her....fear and all! Seeing her embrace that sense of self, make a decision to try to challenge it, and own her steps along the way was empowering...and I think young readers will get that as well. We don't have to take on the world for something to feel JUST LIKE THAT...but when we do and we come out on top, it feels like then you truly can fly.



**copy received for review; opinions are my own ( )

It's funny, this Marisol could be my friend L as a child -- and I love her -- I love the habit of naming things, deliberate thoughts and storytelling, some timidity and her honesty as a friend. Sadly, I do not love Marisol -- I wish I could tell you why. I think I might just find gentle reads really irritating, even when they have some humor and some real challenges that kids go through. Not my cup of tea. ( )

Cute story about Marisol and her fear of climbing a wonderful and magnificent tree in her backyard. ( )