By Paulette Bourgeois
Franklin cracks his shell and needs an operation, but what scares him most is that anyone will find out how frightened he is.
A soccer ball hits Franklin in the chest, and Dr. Bear finds a small crack in his shell. It needs a pin, which means an operation. Everyone keeps telling Franklin how brave he is — his friends, his parents — and he nods along and says nothing, because really he's terrified. He's convinced the X-ray will show everyone he isn't brave at all. He holds that secret through the gown and the waiting until it spills out in tears, and Dr. Bear tells him what he needs to hear.
The operation matters, but most of the story is about Franklin pretending he isn't scared. Franklin has decided everyone needs him to be brave, so he acts brave, and underneath he's terrified and alone with it. If your child hasn't said much about being scared, Franklin may make the subject easier to bring up, because Franklin finally admits he is frightened and is met with reassurance instead of disappointment. And because it's all happening to a cartoon turtle, your child can worry about Franklin's shell instead of their own body.