Poppy’s anxiety monster is making her miserable until one day she realizes her monster might just be frightened, too.

Poppy’s very brave, but often she gets scared and needs to hold someone’s hand. That’s when she knows her monster is around. 
She has all sorts of ways to help her not feel afraid, but none of them seem to work on her monster. Until one day Poppy realizes… maybe monsters need their hands held, too. 
Drawing-style illustrations create a colorful, creative world. 

Shelly Higgs first entered storytelling by telling fibs as a child. It’s not clear whether her parents believed these, but they were unsurprised by the career choices that followed: actor, theater director, playwright, dramaturg. Shelly has entertained audiences as a giant frog, wrestled words of acclaimed playwrights, led theater shows across Australia, and won numerous awards for photography. Shelly lives in Canberra, Australia, with her four kids, husband, and a menagerie of pets. She has just completed a Graduate Diploma in Psychology and hopes to combine her understanding of people with the power of imagination.

Francesca Costa is from Savona, Italy. After graduating in Chemical Engineering and working in this field for several years, Francesca moved to Milan to pursue her dream of being an illustrator. She earned a degree from IED, the European Institute of Design in 2002, after which, she started working as a freelance illustrator in the publishing and advertising fields.