The Journal of Anxious Izzy Parker

Kids at eight-year-old Izzy Parker’s old school called her Mouse, but after moving with her mother from Toronto to Prince Edward Island following her parents’ divorce, Izzy endeavors to become as brave as a lion in this empathetic novel by Fullerton (Flipping Forward Twisting Backward). Even with her new resolve, however, Izzy struggles to navigate severe anxiety that makes it hard for her to talk to others and read aloud in class. Her biggest fear is that she won’t be able to make friends, until she bonds with reading-group partner Dianna over their love of crafts. The arrival of a long-awaited emotional support dog for Izzy further helps her become more confident at school. Heavily inked, heartfelt illustrations by Mistry accompany Izzy’s astute, mature-sounding narration (“If playing with a group of kids is out of my comfort zone, deciding who is right and who is wrong is so far out of my comfort zone that I could drive all the way to the moon and never reach it”), formatted as entries in a classroom journal assignment, which read as an “in her own words” telling of one girl’s growth. Character skin tones reflect the white of the page. Ages 6–8. (May)