A beautiful fable of a story for young children, The Boy Who Was Afraid by Armstrong Sperry (published in the US as Call It Courage) is about a young Polynesian lad who, since his mother was killed at sea, has been afraid. He is, as a result a disappointment to his father and the butt of other children's teasing. So, he decides to take a canoe and overcome his fear on a long voyage out to sea. It is a charming coming of age tale made somewhat more poignant by the thought that it was written during WW2, perhaps with an eye on talking to its young readers about their own fears.
The book is made all the more interesting by the illustrations by the author. The book has been reprinted and re-illustrated a number of times but to have the author's own imaginings of how his characters look is a lovely touch. He also has quite a talent for strong, graphic depictions of landscapes I think.
