A picture book is a medium that helps a child get to know and build - not only the world around him but also his own inner world. Contemporary picture books thematically include experiences from everyday life, family, kindergarten, and later school experiences. Through the story, problem picture books direct the child to the solution of the problem, enable him to see a different approach to the problem and to accept and apply a solution that is appropriate for the child and for his individual situation. Problem picture books most often talk about emotions. This work is based on one of the basic emotions, the emotion of fear. Fear is one of the primary feelings of every human being. Immediate dangers cause discomfort, rapid breathing, sweating - fear. Adults can very easily assess whether the danger is real or just a figment of their imagination, but for children it is still a bit more complicated. It is impossible to completely rid a child of fear, but we can help him deal with it. The child needs to be supported, shown that we understand him, that we trust him and that we respect his feelings. It is necessary to talk to the child about his fears, show him how adults are afraid and how it is completely normal, introduce the child to picture books appropriate to the child's age and the current fear he is facing. This paper presents four contemporary problem picture books that deal with the development of socio-emotional competencies in children, the issue of children's fear. The picture books "Bear is afraid to stay in kindergarten" and "Slonicu je strah vikanja i kazne" by Tatjana Gjurković and Tea Knežević, "Moj svijet vrlina: Tomi je hrabar" by Sanja Polak and "Ana I gospodin Strahojed" by Tihana Lipovec Fraculj were processed. By interpreting the content of the problem picture books of the mentioned authors, it can be concluded that the text is more important than the picture, but at the same time they are complementary.