The Fix-It Friends 1 – Have No Fear!

Nicole C. Kear's Have No Fear is the first Fix-It Friends book, a funny school story for 6 year olds about a girl who's sure she can solve anybody's problem.

What happens

Veronica Conti is seven and she's already worked a few things out. Whipped cream makes everything better (even broccoli). Big brothers are best handled by imagining a UFO taking them away. And recess beats every other bit of the school day, by a mile.

So when she spots a new girl sitting by the fence on the first day of second grade, she has to know what's wrong. Maya is wearing a pink winter hat with kitty ears in September. She won't talk above a whisper. And after a LOT of guessing, it turns out she's terrified of bugs.

Veronica decides this needs fixing. Pronto.

What follows is a string of very well-meant disasters. There are jokes, a pair of funny glasses with a furry moustache and a headstand in the school office that doesn't end well (four billion pennies, apparently). Then Veronica gets a big idea from watching her little sister Pearl shout at the vacuum cleaner. You can probably guess it's not going to go the way she hopes!

It's told completely in Veronica's own voice, and she's brilliant company. She gasps because it's her favourite sound effect. She sorts everyone she meets by which kind of dog they'd be. And she makes lists of everything, from her problems (mostly her brother Jude) to the crimes the strict recess teacher has told her off for.

What's lovely is that under all the noise, she really does care. When her plan makes Maya cry she feels awful, and her mum (who's a therapist) helps her think about going gently and taking baby steps. Who hasn't tried to help a friend and made it a bit worse?

If your reader is a big talker with even bigger ideas, they'll recognise Veronica straight away. It's also a nice gentle way into talking about fears and how you help someone who's scared.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Sticks and Stones is waiting in the library. This time the friend who needs help is Noah, the quiet boy from Veronica's tag group, and the Fix-It Friends decide to speak up for him.