Does your child wake up at night worrying about their first day at a new school?
The new backpack is ready. The uniform is laid out. But your child's eyes are wide open at midnight — stomach tight, mind racing, asking the same question over and over: "What if nobody likes me?"
You've said all the right things. You've promised it will be fine. And they want to believe you — they really do. But the butterfly feeling in their tummy has its own opinion.
This is the book that finally speaks its language.
The Butterfly Feeling: The Day Ava Walked Through the Gate is the picture book that meets your child exactly where they are — not at the happy ending, but at the gate. Scared. Uncertain. One foot forward, one foot back. Honest, warm and quietly powerful, this is the story that turns the most dreaded morning of childhood into something a child can actually face.
Meet Ava. Five years old. New school. Knows absolutely nobody. Her tummy is doing things she has no words for yet — until Pip, her tiny, impossibly calm yellow bird companion, lands on her shoulder and says the one thing she actually needed to hear:
"I know. It's okay to feel this scared."
Not "you'll be fine." Not "there's nothing to worry about." Just — I know.
Together, Pip and Ava talk about the butterfly feeling — what it is, where it lives, why it showed up. And slowly, Ava takes one small step through the gate. Then another. She meets a kind girl who shows her where to sit. She discovers she loves the art corner. She laughs at something she never expected. The butterflies don't disappear — but they get quieter with every new moment.
And on the last page, Ava looks directly at your child and says:
"I know you might be scared. I was too. But something good is waiting on the other side of that gate. I promise."
That promise changes everything.
Why parents read this book the night before the first day:
- Validates the butterfly feeling completely — no minimising, no "it'll be fine"
- Shows children that scared and brave can exist in the same moment
- Ava's journey from the gate to friendship to laughter gives anxious children a roadmap they can trust
- Closes with Ava speaking directly to your child — the most powerful last page in the series
- Warm, joyful illustrations that follow Ava's emotional journey from nervous to belonging
Part of the It's Okay to Feel series — honest, gentle stories for children aged 3–8 who need to know that big feelings are allowed, and that no feeling is too big to face together.
Perfect for: Children aged 4–7 starting a new school ● Back to school reading with a real purpose ● Children who struggle with change and new situations ● The most thoughtful gift any parent can give before the first day
Scroll up. Something good is waiting — and this book helps your child believe it.
