What a lovely, lovely book. The illustrations are just beautiful, with soft lines and vibrant colors and the story is sweet and heartwarming.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Pink Umbrella is a beautiful story about a woman named Adele. She runs the cafe in a small village. She is the sun in the village, which is appropriate because she does not like it when it rains. Sometimes, she does not even get out of bed on dismal, gray, rainy days. One day someone leaves her pink boots, then a pink raincoat and finally a pink umbrella to help her deal with the rainy days. The illustrations are wonderfully done, almost like a water wash with muted tones and shades of pink along with other primary colours. The expressions on the character's faces show what they are feeling, especially towards Adele. The story shows how friendship is important and grows with thoughtfulness. The only thing I did not like about this book was the first part. It seemed to take a long time to introduce the characters and the village. This story would not work well with young children, but definitely late primary would enjoy it and understand the message of kindness, thoughtfulness and caring about others and your friends. A good addition to a school or public library.

The Pink Umbrella, originally published in French, is a tender story about a woman named Adele who manages a cafe, and loves the sunny weather. But when it rains, she has a hard time coping.

But then someone begins leaving her gifts to help protect her in the rainy weather, and she wonders who it could be...

The illustrations here are just perfect -- there's a lot of pink of course, but it doesn't feel overdone because the tones are so soft and beautiful. The story has just the right touch of romance to it which is communicated through thoughfulness and friendship -- the very best kind, in my opinion.

The only thing I didn't like was how the first quarter or so was written -- it felt like too much direct "summary" that didn't flow very well, and sometimes switched tenses as well. Of course, perhaps the fact that this is a translation is why it feels a bit clunky to me, but it's absolutely worth reading. It's not even that wordy, overall, but probably would appeal more to older children (or adults!) than younger ones.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

'...and Adele is the heart of the cafe. She is the village's sun - lively, sweet and sparkling"

The engaging, lyrical story of Adele, the village's sun, and her dislike of rain. The paintings in this book are gorgeous, and are unique in the ocean of illustrations being published in children's books today.

The story is sweet and romantic, the illustrations soft and lovely, I really loved this book.

This would be a great gift book, one that would be cherished for years.