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Get Me Out of This Book!: Rules & Tools for Being Brave
"GET ME OUT OF THIS BOOK!" shouts Max. Max is a scaredy-cat bookmark until he learns 3 rules for being brave--breathe deeply, make a plan, and think positive thoughts!
When Max the bookmark went into a scary book, he couldn't LOOK and he SHOOK and he SCREAMED, "GET ME OUT OF THIS BOOK!"
Then he learned to (1) breathe deeply, (2) make a plan, and (3) think positive thoughts--techniques used by the Navy SEALs. Max put his new tools into practice and now he's brave enough to face a snake, yucky bugs, and even a seven-headed monster!
Every book comes with its very own Max, the bookmark!
This humorous story packs a big punch as it introduces children to mindfulness, self-regulation, self-control, and other techniques for dealing with stress and overcoming fear.
When Max the bookmark went into a scary book, he couldn't LOOK and he SHOOK and he SCREAMED, "GET ME OUT OF THIS BOOK!"
Then he learned to (1) breathe deeply, (2) make a plan, and (3) think positive thoughts--techniques used by the Navy SEALs. Max put his new tools into practice and now he's brave enough to face a snake, yucky bugs, and even a seven-headed monster!
Every book comes with its very own Max, the bookmark!
This humorous story packs a big punch as it introduces children to mindfulness, self-regulation, self-control, and other techniques for dealing with stress and overcoming fear.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 31, 2019
Wow! Lessons for overcoming fear when you feel 'booked' in! Love the art!
October 30, 2020
I think I can honestly say that I've never come across a book with this premise before. Max is a bookmark who's afraid of the pictures in books! So he goes to school to overcome his fears and get his Special Bookmark Badge.
Max uses (of all things) Navy SEAL techniques for dealing with his issues. The book works as a story about overcoming your fears, but it also functions as a basic instruction manual for the techniques (breathe deeply, make a plan, and think positive thoughts) so that kids can practice these things with their own scary situations.
A unique premise with a good message makes this a book worth checking out.
Quotable moment:
Max uses (of all things) Navy SEAL techniques for dealing with his issues. The book works as a story about overcoming your fears, but it also functions as a basic instruction manual for the techniques (breathe deeply, make a plan, and think positive thoughts) so that kids can practice these things with their own scary situations.
A unique premise with a good message makes this a book worth checking out.
Quotable moment:
May 4, 2020
Max is a bookmark who is more than terrified of scary images he gets trapped with inside of books. He attends Bookmark School where he learns the rules and tools to help him handle his fears. He discovers that breathing deeply and using good thoughts can get him out of just about any bind. That said, this book might be a nice way to begin a discussion on facing fears or even on childhood anxiety. Oh, and watch out for the cute little twist at the end of the story. The artwork in this book was created with mixed media.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
August 12, 2019
A great way to give kids strategies to cope with scary times. I took notes myself!
June 8, 2019
Fun approach to offering advice on how to cope with fears.
July 18, 2019
cute story told from a bookmarks perspective!
August 6, 2019
cute, solid!
August 8, 2020
Cute story about how to work on anxiety, would be perfect for circle time in a classroom.
February 28, 2024
Cute. Love the idea of using a bookmark who's scared of being in scary books as a character to teach self-regulation.
February 2, 2020
Get me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools For Being Brave by Kalli Dakos and Deborah Cholette, illustrated by Sara Infante. PICTURE BOOK. Holiday House, 2019. $18. 9780823438624
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Max the bookmark is terrified whenever he is used in a scary book. He decides that he needs some more schooling to get over his fright. His teacher gives him some rules and tools to deal with scary situations.
So cute! What a great tool for discussing scary situations and anxiety with little friends. Infante’s illustrations remind me of Oliver Jeffers and kids will appreciate the wry humor.
Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Max the bookmark is terrified whenever he is used in a scary book. He decides that he needs some more schooling to get over his fright. His teacher gives him some rules and tools to deal with scary situations.
So cute! What a great tool for discussing scary situations and anxiety with little friends. Infante’s illustrations remind me of Oliver Jeffers and kids will appreciate the wry humor.
Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
June 8, 2019
A nervous bookmark hates to be inside dangerous or scary books. When faced with challenging situations he screams to be removed. However, he is learning important rules and tools for being brave. #1: Breath Deeply. #2: Make a Plan. #3: Think Good Thoughts. As he faces his fears and applies the rules and tools he becomes more confident and able to handle sticky situations. This is an amusing way to teach young readers those all-important coping skills that so many seem to lack. Teachers will want to share the book, and create bookmarks with the three rules and tools, for students to use when the need arises.
June 28, 2019
More than an adorable story about books (which is plenty to love already), Get Me Out of This Book uses its narrative to teach kids common mindfulness techniques for dealing with fear and anxiety. Max the bookmark is afraid of many of the books he is put in, but learns how to address those feelings so he can overcome his fears. A fun and creative approach to talking about emotions.
May 14, 2026
What stood out to me most about Get Me Out of This Book! was the way it transforms emotional regulation and anxiety-management techniques into a playful, accessible adventure for children. Using a frightened bookmark as the central character is such a clever concept because it immediately creates humor while also making fear feel relatable rather than overwhelming.
I especially appreciated how the book introduces practical coping strategies in a way that feels organic to the story. The lessons about breathing deeply, making a plan, and using positive thoughts are simple enough for young readers to remember, but they’re also presented through action and repetition rather than heavy-handed instruction.
The interactive quality of the story also gives it strong read-aloud appeal. Max’s reactions, dramatic fears, and gradual growth create opportunities for children to laugh while also recognizing their own anxieties and learning healthy ways to respond to them.
What makes the book particularly effective is the balance between entertainment and emotional learning. The story never loses its sense of fun, even while addressing mindfulness, bravery, stress management, and self-control in developmentally approachable ways.
I could also see this resonating strongly with parents, teachers, counselors, librarians, and caregivers looking for children’s books that support emotional resilience, confidence-building, and self-regulation without feeling overly clinical or instructional.
The idea that bravery is not the absence of fear but the willingness to move through fear using practical tools gives the book a genuinely encouraging message for young readers.
I especially appreciated how the book introduces practical coping strategies in a way that feels organic to the story. The lessons about breathing deeply, making a plan, and using positive thoughts are simple enough for young readers to remember, but they’re also presented through action and repetition rather than heavy-handed instruction.
The interactive quality of the story also gives it strong read-aloud appeal. Max’s reactions, dramatic fears, and gradual growth create opportunities for children to laugh while also recognizing their own anxieties and learning healthy ways to respond to them.
What makes the book particularly effective is the balance between entertainment and emotional learning. The story never loses its sense of fun, even while addressing mindfulness, bravery, stress management, and self-control in developmentally approachable ways.
I could also see this resonating strongly with parents, teachers, counselors, librarians, and caregivers looking for children’s books that support emotional resilience, confidence-building, and self-regulation without feeling overly clinical or instructional.
The idea that bravery is not the absence of fear but the willingness to move through fear using practical tools gives the book a genuinely encouraging message for young readers.
September 21, 2019
Although there are probably plenty of reluctant or disengaged readers who wish they could get out of a book rather than having to trudge through the book's text, this picture book deals with a bookmark named Max who feels anxious around books. The mixed media illustrations will capture the attention of young readers who will be amused by Max's fears about the pictures in books. So traumatized was he by some of his early experiences that he had to go through de-sensitivity training. One by one, he deals with books that contain elements that are scary, creepy, and haunted. Relying on three techniques used by Navy SEALs--Breathe Deeply, Make a Plan, and Think Good Thoughts--Max conquers his fears and knows that he has the tools to make it through the toughest times--or the scariest of books. This is a unique approach to facing and dealing with fears, but it seems likely to be effective. Some caregivers and teachers might want to consider sharing it with their students to provide reassurance but also concrete ways to deal with what frightens them. After all, if it's good enough for the Navy SEALs, it might have uses in an educational setting.
January 31, 2021
This book by Kalli Dakos is an adorable book filled with tips on how to conquer fear. The story follows Max the book mark who is afraid of the pictures in scary books! He goes through book mark training school where he learns how to be brave so that he can be a good book mark. He learns how to handle fear by breathing deeply, making a plan, and thinking good thoughts. The book takes you through each time Max faces something scary and how he handles it using the techniques he learned in bookmark school. In the end Max has learned how to brave even the scariest books!
I really enjoyed this book as it is a creative way to teach children how to handle fear. I love the premise of the book. It is very clever as it follows a book mark scared of books! Dakos book does an excellent job of illustrating times of fear and giving children steps to cope with that. It is filled with fun colors and Max the book mark is sweetly depicted. I loved that it taught children its okay to be scared. It shows them practical steps for them to do when different situations where they might feel afraid. This book can be used in any setting when a child is learning to deal with fear. Whether its in facing scary dreams or scary books! This book can be used in any environment. I really enjoyed following the story.
I really enjoyed this book as it is a creative way to teach children how to handle fear. I love the premise of the book. It is very clever as it follows a book mark scared of books! Dakos book does an excellent job of illustrating times of fear and giving children steps to cope with that. It is filled with fun colors and Max the book mark is sweetly depicted. I loved that it taught children its okay to be scared. It shows them practical steps for them to do when different situations where they might feel afraid. This book can be used in any setting when a child is learning to deal with fear. Whether its in facing scary dreams or scary books! This book can be used in any environment. I really enjoyed following the story.
December 15, 2019
What are the three basic rules for being brave? Ask any Navy SEAL, or any child who has read this book!
Max, a bookmark, used to be scared of images in books, like snakes. He went back to school to learn “rules and tools for looking right at scary.” After that, he used these to face down the scariest images, like sharks, cockroaches, and skeletons.
What are these rules & tools?
Breathe deeply
Make a plan
Think good thoughts
Anyone can employ these for any situation - this book is entertaining and a great teaching tool!
Plenty of white space separates the images and text. Simple black font in several sizes emphasize emotions, like SHOOK and SCREAMED.
Author’s Note includes critical information about the influence of the Navy SEALS training methods.
Includes an actual bookmark in the image of Max attached to the back endpaper.
Max, a bookmark, used to be scared of images in books, like snakes. He went back to school to learn “rules and tools for looking right at scary.” After that, he used these to face down the scariest images, like sharks, cockroaches, and skeletons.
What are these rules & tools?
Breathe deeply
Make a plan
Think good thoughts
Anyone can employ these for any situation - this book is entertaining and a great teaching tool!
Plenty of white space separates the images and text. Simple black font in several sizes emphasize emotions, like SHOOK and SCREAMED.
Author’s Note includes critical information about the influence of the Navy SEALS training methods.
Includes an actual bookmark in the image of Max attached to the back endpaper.
August 16, 2021
A bookmark named Max feels scared when he gets left on a scary page in a story, which happens to him often, so he goes to a course on overcoming fear so that he won’t feel scared anymore. The book covers deep breathing, positive thinking and positive visualization, all as tactics to overcoming fear. I love that this children’s book tries to tackle a very important topic in a really fun way. I found it to be fun to read aloud and it seemed to grasp my 5 year olds attention, even if some of the important stuff was lost on her. This book would also be fun to read as a spooky story for Halloween or by a campfire, in my opinion. While it’s all in all about over-coming fear, there’s still some spooky elements to it!
December 8, 2019
Being a bookmark can be a scary thing. You can find yourself face to face with some very disturbing things. Max is easily freaked out, so he decides to back go to school to get a Special Bookmark Badge. The trainer gives Max three strategies to help manage his fear: Breathe Deeply, Make a Plan, Think good thoughts.
According to the author’s note, these strategies are three of the strategies used by Navy SEALs to “overcome fearful situations.”
According to the author’s note, these strategies are three of the strategies used by Navy SEALs to “overcome fearful situations.”
October 1, 2021
What do you do when you are in a scary place? Bookmark was super scared in some of the books they were in. So he went to special school that helped him learn learn some skills from the Navy Seals to be brave. Now he have face his fears with 1. Deep Breaths 2. Make A Plan, and 3. Think Good Thoughts.
The illustrations are bright yet muted when they need to be. They are cartoonlike scary, so they aren't too scary for younger kids. Cute story!
The illustrations are bright yet muted when they need to be. They are cartoonlike scary, so they aren't too scary for younger kids. Cute story!
February 23, 2023
I loved this book it was such a unique concept to tell the story of a bookmark. It teaches a great lesson to children about being brave and facing their fears. The illustrations would be great for reading to a class because the are big and bright and the different font makes it easy to add different voices while reading aloud.
September 19, 2019
A cute picture about a bookmark who gets scared of the pictures in his books. This is a great storytime book because it teaches children three rules and tools to use when you're scared and let's children practice them while reading/hearing the story.
October 2, 2020
This is a cute story about a bookmark that learned how to overcome their fear. I would recommend this to students in Kindergarten and First Grade. It may even be good to read around Halloween since the story has monsters in it!
July 22, 2019
I really didn't love this
July 26, 2019
Can be used to teach kids about how to handle fear.
July 26, 2019
The book, although mildly humorous, is about using certain tools to help when one is feeling afraid.
August 7, 2019
Provided a simplified version of some Navy SEAL thought processes. I was surprised they were actual rules of the SEALS.
September 4, 2019
3.5 stars How to deal with being frightened.
October 5, 2019
Fearful bookmark shares tips and trips for overcoming fears. (Brave) bookmark included.
October 10, 2019
Cockroaches and punching. I'm out.
October 15, 2019
Good for a read-a-loud for 1st graders. Even upper elementary. Introduces different genres of books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews