What's Scarier Than Thunder?

by Ben Falcone, Kevin Cornell (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

You know what scares away fear? Laughter. And thanks to this side-splitting picture book, laughing away fears and phobias just got a lot easier.

For fans of I'm Not Scared, You're Scared, comes a hilarious picture book about using humor to combat fear, from actor and director Ben Falcone.

It's time for bed, but Claire can't fall asleep. There's a storm outside, and the thunder is so loud and scary! Good thing her parents are there to help. They tell Claire there's no reason to be afraid. After all, there are plenty of things that are scarier than thunder...like a scorpion named Finn who plays the violin! A snake with big fangs and uneven bangs! And a dragon named Rance with ants in his pants! The hilarious list gets more and more outsized, building on itself in the most outrageous ways possible, until Claire is giggling herself right to sleep.

Actor/Director/Writer Ben Falcone delivers a delightfully silly story—brought to bouncy life by Kevin Cornell—that reminds us that sometimes a good belly laugh is just the thing you need.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593697016
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/11/2025
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Ben Falcone is a happy dad and husband. He’s also a film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He’s sometimes still recognized as Air Marshal Jon from Bridesmaids, though not when he shaves his mustache. He resides in Los Angeles with his family and two dogs who don’t listen to him at all.

Kevin Cornell isn’t scared of thunder at all—just the damage a good hard rain can do to his Philadelphia home.To cope, he makes books like Chapter Two Is Missing, The Chicken Squad, and The Terrible Two.

Visit Kevin at KevinCornell.me if you like the way he draws and want to see more, or if you have the name of a licensed, dependable roofer at an affordable rate.

Editorial Reviews

"[W]hat lingers isn’t fear but the feelings of playfulness and safety that can bloom amid attachments secure enough to be silly." —PW

From the Publisher

2024-11-23
A sweet and silly antidote to a child’s fear.

Claire can’t fall asleep after she’s frightened by a loud thunderclap, so her father comes to her bedroom to provide reassurance. Instead of offering comfort through meteorological explanations or soothing words, however, he tells her that he overcame his own fear of thunder when he “realized there are so many other things that are much scarier.” Though this approach could have easily backfired by introducing Claire to new fears, the scary things her dad describes in bouncing, rhyming verse are funny, not fearsome: “There’s a moose filled with custard holding a sword made of mustard.” While Cornell’s energetic, cartoon-style illustrations use a full-color palette to depict Claire, her father, and the setting, scenes depicting Claire imagining the things her dad describes are cleverly rendered in monochromatic blues. Eventually, her mother joins in on the fun, voicing her own ideas to make Claire laugh. Some adults may wonder why there are no other thunderclaps after the first one—is the storm over? If so, why does Claire still need reassurance? And if not, why aren’t her parents’ playful words punctuated by ongoing crashes? Still, young readers likely won’t notice—and will have a blast alongside the young protagonist. Claire and her parents are tan-skinned.

Imaginative fun—and just the thing to buoy kids through their own fears.(Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews