Fear is an inescapable part of childhood. With their limited experience of the world, kids often have a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy. Their endlessly creative imaginations can conjure monsters behind closet doors and dangers lurking in every shadow. For parents, helping children navigate their irrational fears can be challenging. Knowing that the things their kids are afraid of don’t pose an actual threat, parents often dismiss their fears or try to explain them away—which rarely helps. In CHUG AND THUG’S SCARY MOVIE, a picture book for (roughly) kids aged four to eight, author Gemal Seede, Ph.D. and illustrator David Macedo offer guidance for children and parents with a charming tale of an anxious young bug who learns to manage his irrational fears.
Despite his formidable name, little Thug is a sensitive little bug who becomes frightened of the dark after watching a scary movie. His brother Chug tries to reassure him that “the show was all fake,” and his mother similarly lectures Thug that “Those monsters were just actors with makeup, for goodness sake.” But poor Thug, imagining “foul monsters behind the door, under his bed,” isn’t comforted by their explanations. His fears only grow stronger over the following days and nights, following him to school, where a falling broom causes Thug to cry out, earning him the mockery of his classmates. Chug comes up with a grand idea—making their own scary movie to show their friends. Together, they write a “creepy caper” and film the story using a borrowed camcorder and Halloween props from the attic. When they show the movie to their classmates, everyone is terrified—even Sally Spider, who had mocked Thug earlier! Far from being consoled, however, Thug feels awful for scaring his friends. He explains how they made their movie, joking around with their costumes and getting everyone to laugh. By the night’s end, Thug has at last overcome his fear of the dark.
Macedo’s charming, expressive artwork wonderfully complements Seede’s inventive rhymes, and the book’s gentle, empathetic tone makes for an accessible, enjoyable story that never feels condescending or glib. Parents of anxious children will find wisdom in CHUG AND THUG’S SCARY MOVIE that can benefit readers of any age.
Author Gemal Seede’s and illustrator David Macedo’s CHUG AND THUG’S SCARY MOVIE offers children, parents and caregivers a clever and empowering approach to managing irrational fears, using their own imagination and creativity to demystify the things that frighten them.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader