This is one of the sweetest and most beautiful graphic novels I have ever read. Initially drawn to the art this gave so much more, including lyrical prose. Ultimately this is a story of family, friendship and dealing with grief. While Willow and Pilu come from different worlds, they are such a sweet pair and I can't say no to a doggie sidekick! 

The art style itself is unique and while it will appeal to a younger reader as a woman in her mid-twenties I was enchanted by the illustration. Additionally, the use of colour to show the woods felt real to me. I read this at a point where I needed something to fall into and escape - something I was easily able to do. 

I will warn you going in that you might get a little emotional reading. I wanted to reach in and give Willow the biggest hug. The way that Nguyen has shown emotion and the complicated feelings that are being experienced from the perspective of a child is nothing short of incredible. 

It's no surprise that I gave this 5 stars. This really touched my heart, it's not a complicated story, however, it can speak volumes. I really hope that there is a follow-up because I can see the relationship and story really growing and evolving. This is a wonderful book, I can't stress enough how much I adore it. 

A huge thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for giving me a chance to read this in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is such a heart-warming and lovely book, it was an absolute joy to read.

I want to start by talking about the artwork, which is gorgeous. It's so detailed and imaginative, and the style and colouring still feels very gentle. I would even say the style and colouring is calming to look at.

The story itself is also excellent. It follows Willow, a young girl who misses her late mother greatly, and her adventure in helping Pilu, who is a lost tree spirit, to find her way home.
The way this story shows how bottling up emotions and not talking about them does more harm than good, is well conveyed. It shows how emotions we don't know how to handle can build up inside us like monsters, and in bursts of emotion we can say and do things we don't mean. It also shows that opening up about these emotions to ourselves and talking about them to those in our lives is healthy, and that it's okay to talk about these things. We all have our own monsters we have to face, we all get scared and angry or feel alone sometimes.

Willow's emotions largely stem from her grief at losing a parent which i feel is a topic well handled in this children's story, it does so without becoming too heavy for children to understand.
What i got from reading this, is that it's okay to be sad and reach out to others, and also that we shouldn't take the people we love for granted - or assume things about them without talking to them.

Overall, it was a great book that shows how to handle overwhelming negative emotions in a better way, while providing a great comic style and story i can easily see kids and adults alike enjoying. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First up thank you for allowing me to read this one, but sorry, I stranded at page 40-ish. I just didn't particularly like the characters (they were all so annoying), though I did like our green woodlandspirit a bit. The art was fantastic, and it is only because of that that I kept reading on, in the hopes it would get better.

Pilu of the Woods is a beautiful and somewhat melancholic book about a girl named Willow, whose inner monsters make her act sometimes like a little brat. When she runs off to the forest, she meets a lost girl name Pilu and ends up helping her find her way home. They both have run away home and the circumstances are told from the kids' perspective and how they try to help one another. But the little monsters may not be monsters at all and the girls learn about that and many other things along their way. The comic is very cute and thoughtful and you end up learning things about nature, flowers and fungi too, which was really nice and didn't feel superimposed at all. The story flow is wonderful, well paced and deep in meaning. Especially the situation with the mother at end was a surprise and at the same time handled with warmth.

The art is perfect, clear and the colors are warm. The line art is round and simple and very very cute, but the whole package still conveys everything, even the sad parts, extremely well. The panels are clear and pretty - very easy to follow too, which makes this an awesome kids' comic. This is a must for kids, since it teaches without preaching and highlights self-discovery. Pilu of the Woods is a meaningful and not just your everyday comic, but much more. I really have to have this in my library!

*thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

What a great little story this is. It was beautifully illustrated and had a rather sad yet important message to it. It's a story of loss of a family member, a mother and the emotions that causes people to feel. The story is told from Willow, the youngest daughters point of view. It's emotional but told in a way that doesn't make it too dark and heavy. It's a story about feelings aswell as friendship and how emotions can get so big sometimes that they do and can come out in a physical way. It was beautifully told and easy to follow. Definitely one to pick up and read.

Willow is a tween girl who is bullied at school for being a "wuss" and crying alone in the bathroom. One day, after a big fight with her older sister (who is partially raising her), Willow wanders around in the woods near her house and finds...Pilu the tree spirit! She and Pilu share natural curiosity, sensitive hearts, and angry outbursts (possibly caused by childhood trauma). The illustrations and colouring is gorgeous and will be very appealing to kids. This book also includes educational moments, such as how mushrooms grow and how to identify trees by their leaves. Although the story line is light, slow, and beautiful, there are serious themes of mental health, difficult family dynamics, grief, and preserving the environment.

Perfect for fans of The Sand Warrior, Hilda and the Troll, and slow, quiet mangas.

"You know maybe, it's okay to cry sometimes."

WOW. I'm so glad that I discovered this gem on NetGalley!

First of all, I love the art so much! I couldn't stop geeking out about it on every page! I love the colors, which kinda has a watercolor feel to it and the super cute doodly and cartoony illustrations! SO GOOD!

The story is as lovely as the art. The protagonist, Willow, ran away to the woods after having a fight with her older sister. In the forest, she met a tree spirit, Pilu, who also ran away from her home.

I absolutely adore these two characters. Willow has these monsters that she keeps inside jars, afraid that they might cause chaos if she lets them out. She ignores the fact that they're a part of her. But as Pilu said, no one wants to be ignored, even her monsters... which is such a good metaphor to feelings. In the end, Willow learned that it's okay to accept them.

"I thought being strong meant not crying, or whining, or complaining, or being sad... but I was wrong..."

It resonated so much to me. I tend to ignore some feelings, such as sadness because I usually think that it's a negative thing to feel, but in reality, there's something good and cathartic about accepting it. OHH... yeah, this reminds me of the movie Inside Out!

Pilu is also a character whom I could identify with. She ran away from home because she felt very alone and invisible, but in reality, she's loved and cared for. I also feel that way at times! Surrounded by lots of people, I tend to feel alone and a complete stranger, but I realize that among these waves and waves of people, there are those who genuinely care for me and are ready to back me up anytime.

In conclusion, this is such an adorable and heartwarming graphic novel. It might be a children's book, but it made me reflect on some things in life and about myself. Huhu. The feels. I sincerely hope that lots of people would be able to read this book when it's released next year because it's such a special and beautiful book!

Thanks so much, NetGalley for this eARC!

Jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations accompany this heartwarming story about love, loss and dealing with your emotions.

OMG! This was the cutest and most heart-warming graphic novel I read this year!
I loooooved the little monsters and the art style is absolutely fantastic.
I want more like this. I can recommend this to anybody, children and grown-up children.

This book is amazing! A beautiful tale of friendship and feelings. Willow loves the woods and studies them with the help of her professor father. After a fight with her sister, Willow runs away to the woods and meets Pilu. Pilu, a tree spirit, is lost and needs help finding her home. Through the process of helping Pilu, Willow learns about her own feelings and learns how hurtful she can be to other people. I've already added this to our next library order and look forward to recommending it to our middle school students!

Pilu of the Woods is about a middle-grade girl named Willow and fate has worked for her to meet Pilu, another child who ran away. Willow is having a hard time dealing with a sad event in their family, and as for Pilu, she felt like that her mother doesn't care about her. The stories of these girls and how they tried to face the monsters inside them is quite relatable.

The way the illustrations were drawn was also adorable and eye-catching that will appeal to any age, specifically to young readers. The adventure of Willow and Pilu, and of the dog Chicory, in the woods will delight readers because of how spectacular the flow of the story was written. Readers will feel different emotions while reading this, such as pity, sorrow, and joy. It is a wonderful graphic novel that I can recommend to anyone, especially those who are fond of reading middle-grade stories.

For fans of the Hilda series, this offers a similar whimsical, adventuring character. Willow has trouble managing her emotions and after a particularly bad day, storms into the forest. She has spent countless hours there exploring with her father, so when she meets a tree spirit, named Pilu she's able to guide her home. The two become friends and learn that suppression isn't always the best tactic when it comes to emotions.

I adored this. It made me cry, so be warned, but the art was so immensely charming and the panels flowed beautiful.

This was a really sweet story of friendship, loss, and expressing feelings. The artwork is whimsical and shows an excellent portrayal of bottled up anger, sadness, and anxiety. Something Willow has a lot of, what with dealing with bullies at school, constantly fighting with her older sister, and trying to stay strong during hard times. After Willow runs into Pilu and tries to lead her home, she not only makes an unexpected friend but faces a lot of those feelings she knows are growing inside her and are getting harder to ignore. I really enjoyed the friendship between Willow and Pilu and the magical realism of this story. I especially liked the interests Willow has in plant life. Who knew one could learn so much about how mushrooms grow in just two short pages! When the story starts to take a darker turn and those bottled up emotions are becoming too hard to hold in, seeing the artwork express how Willow and Pilu faced their demons was very moving. I can see this being very relatable to a lot of readers. Though I do wish it was a little longer, I thought the story had a great message that came across clear as a whistle.

Pilu of the Woods is an MG fantasy graphic novel about a little girl named Willow who gets in a fight with her big sister and goes running off into the woods, where she meets Pilu, a forest spirit. As they adventure together, Willow is forced to come to terms with her "monsters"—the emotions that cause her to lash out at her loved ones or to think poorly of herself—and she must learn how to take care of those feelings and deal with them in a healthy way, without hurting her family.

I don't know if a graphic novel has ever given me quite as many Feels as Pilu did, but wow, this little story is incredible. Don't be turned off by its marketing as a middle grade story, because it is without a doubt the sort of tale that could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. The artwork is stunning and some of my favorite I've ever seen in a graphic novel, the plot is beautiful, and the characters are so lovable.

Even though the hard copies won't be out for a little while, I've already added the final edition to my shopping list to pick up later because it's so lovely and precious that I know I'll reread it again and again. Be warned, though: you should probably have tissues on hand, because the ending of this little graphic novel had me weeping the most bittersweet tears. ♥ Well done on crafting such a gorgeous little world, Mai!

Thank you so much to Oni Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Be kind to the Forest! Be kind to each other! Be kind to yourself and acknowledge and respect your feelings! This is one that covers the touchy subjects for kids. How do you deal with your feelings? Those angry thoughts and feelings? Not only does she make you ask yourself these questions but she also shows good coping mechanisms. This was truly a heart warming story and I'm so glad that NetGalley provided me with this ARC, I can't wait to order this one for our younger patrons. Beautiful story, simply beautiful!

Ok this is one of the cutest things I've ever read. The art style is very very cute and perfect for this kind of story, it sort of has a My Neighbour Totoro vibe with the nature and magic and young girls and the cuteness. There are definitely some messages it's trying to convey and I think reading this as an adult those do come across as a bit children won't notice that and that is the intended audience... I'm guessing? Overall, I really enjoyed it and I'm excited to see what else Nguyen comes out with.

A short and sweet comic about healing from traumatic and sudden loss. Willow has recently lost her mother to an unknown cause and after saying some mean things. She never got to apologize or say goodbye, This comic is an exploration of the stages of grief and how we move forward after loss. Beautiful illustrations accompany a gentle story about learning to love and accept yourself after something terrible happens.

Absolutely visually breathtaking and a testament to positive psychology principles. There are truly two wolves living inside all of us and the wolf that survives is the one that you feed.

Pilu of the Woods is a cute little children's comic about learning to open up and heal by recognizing the "little monsters" in your head without shutting them away or letting them get the better of you. The art is adorable, and the fantasy elements make it especially fun. The story doesn't get as much development since it's relatively short, but it's still quite deep-- dealing with anger issues and grief and self-acceptance. Definitely a good, sweet comic for kiddos.

Simply my new favorite graphic novel. This book is beautiful. The illustrations are great and the color pallete goes amazing with the story.
The story makes you think about how you live your life, what matter to you and the importance you give to things that affect you. It teaches us that our inner demons won’t go away, they are a part of you, but what we can do is learn how to cope with them.