Failing Up

How will our children respond to failure?

Meet Spud. He used to love adventures and learning new things. But lately, every mistake feels like a disaster. One squeak on the flute, and he quits forever. One wrong math problem, and he believes he'll never learn. Every small mistake or failure turns into negative talk and self-doubt.

Sound familiar?

In Spud Grows: Failing Up, kids meet a relatable hero whose fear of failing is stopping him from doing the things he loves. With the help of his friend Sage, Spud discovers a life-changing truth: it's not failure that stops you - it's how you respond to failure that does. The kids who keep trying are the kids who keep growing.

A warm, funny, playfully illustrated picture book about:

• Growth mindset - mistakes are teachers, not verdicts
• Resilience and grit - getting back up when things go wrong
• Healthy self-talk - replacing "I'm a failure!" with "I can get a little better tomorrow"
• The courage to try new things - even when you might not be good at them yet
• Knowing when to ask for help - instead of just giving up

Perfect for:

• Kids ages 4-8 who get frustrated, give up easily, or are afraid to try
• Parents teaching perseverance and a love of learning
• Teachers and counselors building social emotional learning (SEL) lessons
• Bedtime read-alouds, classroom story time, and quiet-time conversations

A standout feature parents and teachers love: The book ends with "An Interview with Spud"; four thoughtful discussion questions that invite children to reflect on their own feelings about failure, plus Spud's honest answers. Story time becomes a real conversation about identity, emotions, and resilience.

Written and illustrated by Evan Hall, Failing Up is part of the Spud Grows series. Character-shaping picture books that help kids build resiliency and navigate feelings with humor, heart, and honesty. If your child loves picture books about brave, curious kids and big feelings, Spud is about to become their new favorite friend.

Failure isn't the end of the story. It's where the best stories begin.