Dare To Be You

Matthew Syed

This is best-selling author Mathew Syed’s second book for children. Dare To Be You follows You Are Awesome with an engaging visual style including fonts of varying sizes, cartoons and lots of orange splashed across the pages. Syed sets out to persuade our anxious, perfectionist children that it’s fine to be yourself, to make mistakes, take risks and to be the person you want to be. He first introduces us to ‘Kid Doubt’ and then in subsequent chapters explores themes of not fitting in, becoming your own action hero, kindness and resilience. Syed skilfully draws on personal anecdotes from his days as a champion table-tennis player, quotes from well-known figures and scientific research to evidence and illustrate his points. It’s a book which can be read from beginning to end, or just dipped into and would make an excellent addition to a classroom bookshelf or to a Thrive curriculum.

Published by Wren and Rook

Free teaching resources available online

Reviewed by Rachel Bolton