A heartrending insight into the inner lives of pets.
Author/illustrator Grieves offers a children’s tale of a dog remembering shared experiences with his absent owner.
Otis, who has the appearance of a French bulldog, spends every day with his “best friend”—his human owner, Grace. A calendar page for the month of April reflects their busy schedule and the joy they so obviously find in each other’s company—doing yoga, playing at the park, snuggling, reading, going on walks and picnics, and a host of other activities. Grace is clearly the center of Otis’ world, but, one day, she goes away, and the canine doesn’t know why. Desolate, he drifts around the empty house, missing the fun things that he and Grace would do together, including playing fetch, dancing, having bubble baths, and playing hide and seek. In the forlorn hope that Grace might be playing their hiding game, Otis noses his way into a tote bag: “you can come out now…” he thinks, dolefully. “waiting.…” However, Grace doesn’t show up; “i still miss you,” Otis concludes, staring out the window. Grieves narrates from Otis’ perspective, writing in a guileless, mostly unpunctuated lowercase, capturing the simple, unconditional devotion of pets. The text is effectively presented in stark black upon white spaces in two-page spreads. The cartoon illustrations’ color scheme favors soft-inked pastels, and the artwork has a watery aspect, as if to reflect the sadness that Otis is feeling. The repetition of the dog’s wistful phrase (“i miss…”) emphasizes just how much pets rely on their owners for company. Further lamentations—“it’s no fun without you,” “it’s lonely without you”—give the narrative a mourning quality, which is more poignant due to the fact that readers don’t know whether Grace is gone for good, or just temporarily. The former would be unbearably tragic, of course, but the latter is just as affecting, as it suggests that Otis must feel this way whenever his friend leaves home without him.
A heartrending insight into the inner lives of pets.Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9798992827002
Page Count: -
Publisher: OhG Design
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A reassuring riff on embracing imperfections.
A young rabbit frets about her upcoming violin performance in Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey’s literary debut.
Mei Mei’s dream—“to share her music with the world”—is about to come true. She’s having her very first recital, complete with an orchestra, at the H’Opera House. But the day before the concert, Mei Mei is racked with anxiety. What if she plays a bum note in front of everyone? Sure enough, the worst happens mid-performance: She hits a clinker. But by remembering her mom’s reassuring sentiments from the night before (“Feel the wind…find the notes to make it right”), Mei Mei summons the strength to soldier on, and “wrong notes become right. Dissonance becomes beautiful.” At times, it all feels more like a resilience parable than a story, and the writing can be precious (“The flutter of butterflies wakes Mei Mei from her slumber”). Still, the message is solid, bolstered by O’Hara’s pencil and watercolor illustrations, which are plush-toy soft—fitting, as even prior to this book’s publication, a stuffed Mei Mei has been for sale at Grammy winner Laufey’s website. The tale features an all-animal, all-adorable cast, and endearingly, the art betrays no hint of modern times. A standout image presents Mei Mei onstage, temporarily incapacitated by her mistake and imagining her fellow musicians and their instruments with the color-blasted menace of an expressionist painting.
A reassuring riff on embracing imperfections. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9798217051748
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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