Little Tony is afraid to go to school. He had an accident and has been in a wheelchair ever since. And the kids look at him strangely. As long as his friend Ari was by his side, protecting and helping him, he could bear it. But now Ares is gone, and Tony has lost his support, and with it, his courage. Only fear remains with him. Until the good fairy introduces him to Mr. Phobos.

Tony and Mr. Phobos is the second children’s book by educator Elena Toidu and Paralympic swimmer Antonis Tzapatakis. The first book, titled The Dream, was released in 2016. Both books were inspired by the experiences and difficulties of Antonis Tzapatakis, which he learned through them and wants to share mainly with children. Elena Toidu was also motivated by personal experience, bullying her son in school life for a long time, and her desire to help at least one child who has a similar experience.

“We are all different, this is what we should teach our children. No one is the same, we are equal, but not the same. As for fear, let’s explain to them that this is an emotion, the same as joy and sadness, ”the teacher notes. Antonis Tzapatakis agrees: “We all have differences and we should have differences. Because they, like fears, are motives for making our weak strong.” For him, fear is, he says, a motivation. “I don’t let anything stop me from trying to achieve something.” Elena Toidu learned “the fear to be my ally, to protect me from wrong steps. However, when I find myself in a dead end, I ask for help.

This is one of the pieces of advice Mr. Fear gives little Tony when the two of them come face to face. “In order to move forward, you need to stand up using your own strength. And if you have problems somewhere, ask for help!” And Mr. Fear cringed as Tony continued to talk to him, discussing his problems. This little secret is very effectively shared with readers by the book by Elena Toidou and Antonis Tzapatakis: How, when we face fear, it shrinks, shrinks, often disappears. A secret that seems to be ignored by adults, as both authors believe that we often don’t know how to talk to children about fear, but also about diversity. “That’s why this book was written,” they explain, “in the hope of bringing out the mutual respect we hide within” and is intended for all ages, because “what’s good about writing a children’s story is that it can be read by everyone and reminded us of about the values, “I can” and “I can’t” that we have forgotten.”