Thank you to NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for an opportunity to review a digital ARC of Meet Me By the Sea by Taltal Levi.

This is short children's book with incredible illustrations. A little girl feels invisible when her parents are too busy working to spend time with her. She decides to go camping alone in the woods to get to her favorite place by the sea. Her parents join her the next day, after she has met a friendly fox and doesn't feel so invisible any more.

This is such a sweet book for kids and a gentle reminder to parents to put down their phones and enjoy their children. Look for this book on 2,2,21.

The beautiful art work in Meet Me By the Sea is what first captured my eye. But even as I read through it the first time (focusing primarily on the illustrations), I felt there was a depth to this simple little story that was just out of my grasp. So I read it again.

This story reminded me of when I was 7 and feeling unnoticed by my family. Like the child in the book, I intended to run away. All the sad, angry, lonely, hopeful, and joyful feelings of that time in my life were expressed in such simple and perfect language. What a beautiful story with a wonderful message!

I think this would make a great read-aloud (with the potential for lots of discussion) for both library and one-on-one story times.

Thank you NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the digital ARC copy of Meet Me By the Sea.

This a short and sweet story about a girl who travels to the see. She meets a friend along the way and he continues the journey with her. Its a simple, but beautiful story. I enjoyed the illustrations as well.

This is a beautifully illustrated book. It’s very calming and maybe appropriate for bedtime or quiet time reading. I paused when I read about the child running away to the woods to find space though. It’s not a message I would feel comfortable reading to my toddler, for example. Otherwise a beautifully written picture book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
I read this book with my 8 year old son and he gave it a thumbs up. My son is autistic, and although this story is not about autism, I think he still found a connection with the main character who felt alone and went to her special place to feel calmed and centred again. We really enjoyed the art work in this book and would definitely recommend.

Meet Me By the Sea, by Taltal Levi, is a simple, little story about a little girl and the adventures she has when her parents are too busy. The simplicity of this book celebrates childhood independence and the importance of getting into nature, but it also ends with the girl finding her parents by the sea.

Meet Me By the Sea, by Taltal Levi, tells the story of a little girl whose parents are too busy for her. Feeling invisible, she retreats to nature, to find peace and calm and a little companionship.

This book is boasts truly lovely illustrations that make you want to cuddle up under a blanket. The writing is sparse but effective, with a sweet message about centering oneself by spending some time alone in the great outdoors.

Thank you to NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a cute concept and the art is lovely, but the simplistic plot feels thin even for such a young audience. This leaves the value of the book squarely in the illustrations, which would be fine except that they aren’t really capable of telling the story on their own without any text.

A note: I’ve seen other reviewers express concern about the idea of a small child running off into the woods alone at night with no consequences or scolding afterward. Obviously we’re not encouraging our small children to do this, but have we completely lost our sense of imagination? There are many, many kids books that have plots involving running away from home, and it seems everyone (kids included) has proven capable of separating fact from fiction in this regard. We all read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, right? And still managed to not run away from home and get ourselves into horrible situations? Sigh. It’s a flawed book in some ways but I can’t abide the plot scolding.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me By the Sea is a quick but mesmerizingly beautiful story about a little girl who feels invisible because her parents are too busy for her, so she takes herself out into the woods and eventually out to the sea where she wanted them to take her. She makes friends with a fox along the way who helps her feel seen and not so invisible after all.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, and it reminds me of here where I live in Newfoundland, Canada. The story is short and simple, presented just one line per page and in plain enough language that an early reader of preschool age could easily enjoy it, but it feels ageless enough to be read to older children as well. I think this book will become a cherished childhood favourite for many kids in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I feel like the message gets lost a little bit and would not be picked up easily by the child reading this book. However, it does come together in the end.

Read this beautifully illustrated picture book to your kids for the artwork, but be sure to talk to them about the story since some adults are likely to see it as a wee bit problematic. The main character is a little girl who feels ignored by her parents who are always busy on their phones and computers, so she packs up and heads to the sea. This involves her spending a scary evening alone in the woods and eventually picking up a fox friend who follows along. As you can guess, her parents end up at the sea as she gets there, looking for her. I guess this is supposed to be a sweet and happy ending, but of course we don't really want our children to head off on two-day journeys to the ocean alone when we're ignoring them.

I have full faith that kids won't take this literally and will appreciate the feelings of our heroine and the gorgeous artwork. You may wish to also talk about the fact that foxes are actually wild animals that are very fearful of people and would not act like this sweet fox, which kids from the country no doubt already know. And I'm sure they know not to go off to the sea when they're sad and lonely too, just like the readers of classics like "My Side of the Mountain" and "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" know not to run off and live in the mountains or museums. It just makes a fun story. And in this case, it's a really beautifully illustrated one too.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Meet Me By the Sea is a soothingly lovely picture book perfect for reading with a toddler or young child, snuggled up together on a cozy autumn day. The text is succinct but effective, and the feeling of being neglected or ignored, and searching for one's happy place to recenter one's emotions, is sure to resonate through the sparse language. The illustrations, in a calm, natural, earthy-pastels palette, are truly beautiful, being rich in detail and personality, without ever being too busy or intense. I particularly loved the shadow-casting fox, and the feeling of a sea breeze blowing through the grass along a coastal hill. A beautiful book to share with little ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and North South Books for the advance review copy!

This was so beautiful and heartwarming <3 <3

I love everything: the story, the drawing, the message...

A simple and perfect book!

ARC Copy...beautiful illustration and simple (yet to the point text) I did like the contrast in colour palette between the dark "man-made"-distracted world versus the colourful-bright natural world waiting to be discovered.

A cute little book about the power of perspective,
A little girl who discovers that her parents and the nature around her love her and notice her despite their busy days. .
A cute lovely story full of cute drawings 💖

Super short story. I loved the illustrations. The story sort of left me confused... I'm not sure I'd read it to a young child. It seems to be endorsing running away... into the woods... and waking up with a wild animal! Scary to me to think a young child in sleeping out in the woods and it's parents don't notice until morning??? Alarming!! It is beautifully written, I;m just not sure for who. Maybe as a gift to parents who are too busy to notice they even have children? Might put them back into place!

This beautifully illustrated picture book features two of my favorite things - the sea, and a fox! The story is sweet and simple, and I think it would be a fun book to read and talk over with a little person.

I received a pre pub copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The story (about a little girl who feels ignored and so goes off on her own to her family's favourite place) is nice but it's the illustrations that are the main attraction of this book. I loved the colours and the expressions on the girl's face. Her eyes are brilliant. I also loved the fox.

I'm not sure I'd agree with other reviewers' concerns that it promotes running away. Children are often required to enter new worlds and suspend disbelief when they read and I wouldn't expect children to suddenly start packing up and heading to the woods just because the character in this book does.

This is a cute book about feeling invisible and how we aren't invisible to everyone. Sometimes it just takes one friend and a familiar place to make you feel like you belong and matter to someone. The illustrations in this book are very vibrant and detailed.

I am <em>so</em> torn. I want to say I <em>loved</em> this book, this story. But something about reading a book to a young child that features another young child running off into the woods by herself to reach her favorite place, ultimately ending up <em>alone</em> in the dark wood <em>at night</em> seriously bothers me. This is a great story with a great message and <em>beautiful</em> artwork, but it is not one I would read to a child. Honestly, <em>Meet Me By The Sea</em> by Taltal Levi is more fit for adults.

<b>Running Away</b>

The main character in this book begins her story by feeling ignored, sad, and frustrated. Instead of talking out those feelings with her parents (which is reasonable for a child), she decides to take a trip to her favorite place: the sea. So, she bundles herself up, packs her bag, and sets out into the day. Her journey takes her all the way into nighttime where she bundles up in a sleeping bag in the middle of the woods.

Come morning, she wakes up to a visitor.

Now, it's fairly obvious that this is meant to be a happy story with a lesson learned. The ending is easy to guess. And some reviews have already mentioned such. But, I have to ask, is it really good to be reading a book to children that suggests nothing bad will come of running off if you feel like you're being ignored?

I had an incredibly difficult time wrapping my head around that message. And it's not that I wanted anything bad to happen to the main character. Rather, I find myself feeling anxious for any kid who does take that unintentional message to heart.

<b>Foxwork</b>

It should come as no surprise, really, that I requested this book solely because I noticed the fox on its cover. And I love him <em>so dearly</em>. The artwork in this book is pretty fantastic, but the fox is the one who stole my breath away. There was a particular illustration that just pulled at my heart, the wide eyed curious gaze of the fox so emotionally gripping. I <em>loved</em> the way he was introduced, included throughout the child's journey. It was perfect and adorable.

Of course, the characters and settings were lovely as well. As far as I'm concerned, though, the fox is the one who stole the show.

<b>Who is this book for?</b>

I honestly found myself asking this question numerous times while reading it. Who, truly, is the intended audience? I don't think this book teaches young children anything valuable. In fact, I think it does exactly the opposite. It has bright colors and gorgeous illustrations that, sure, kids will like. But, ultimately, I can't figure out <em>why</em> this would be a good book for a young audience.

At the end of the day, I genuinely just feel like it isn't. The intended message isn't one that is meant to reach the understanding of a child. The message is for the parents, the adults who are so busy with their lives that they forget to spend time with their children. The story isn't trying to teach a kid something, but rather trying to teach the parents. We follow the journey through the eyes of a young girl, but she is not representative of who the author is speaking to.

In the end, I did really enjoy reading this book. I loved the story and I loved the art. I loved the message. And I <em>loved</em> the fox.

But I don't think this is a book for kids. And I would not read it to them.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

This review will be live on the Reader Fox blog on September 3, 2020.