
Member Reviews

Pretty pastel pictures and a sweet, quiet story. A pleasant read but ultimately nothing that special and not something I would actively seek out.

This is why adults should look at young reader children's books. Our heroine finds her parents too plugged-in and logged-on to care for her, so she naffs off, sleeping bag and rolled-up ground mat and all. She spends a night on her own, before they can respond – but it's the daytime that she doesn't spend alone that is the wonder of her life. This simple little story is just wonderfully presented. The artworks are full-page images (bar the single-line sentences of the story at the foot of the page), and manage to combine a watercolour aesthetic with a lined, pencilled, textured approach. And the more you look at this, the more everything seems right – the girl is universally acceptable, a bit round, a bit nondescript perhaps yet thoroughly identifiable; her destination and company are foreshadowed in the house she leaves. The quality I will remember this most for, however, is its quietness – the whole story has the bearing of a meek, quiet girl, and it only made me realise how many books for this age range tend towards shouting. A subdued, measured, visually appealing piece then – the creator's debut was a wonderful work too, with a clear moral and trick. This, with its lack of obvious raison d'etre, is a subtle masterpiece. And I bet I can count the uses of that word in my 15-year reviewing career on the fingers of one hand.

Sparce in words, but not in feeling, this delightful and gorgeous book celebrates treasuring oneself and one's family.

Meet Me by the Sea by Taltal Levi is the beautifully illustrated story of a young girl who feels invisible to her family, so sets off to her happy place to find her own adventure. While the pastel illustrations are gorgeous, I felt that the story itself was somewhat lacking, and would have benefited from a little more information about what leads the young girl to her decision to set off on her quest. When her parents ultimately find the girl in her favourite place, it seems that they are indeed more attuned to their daughter than previously assumed. The concept here is lovely, but I would have loved to have seen it a little more fleshed out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for the opportunity to read this ARC.

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**
Nice story, and I liked the surprise visitor.
Beautifully done illustrations, ones I could easily see framed and put on the wall.
I think I would have liked maybe a page or two more at the beginning, as it felt like an abrupt start.

This is a beautifully illustrated children's book that follows a girl who takes matters into her own hands after finding her parents are too busy to spend time with her.
The writing in this book is spare and it makes for a very quick read. It would be suitable to read to an infant all the way up to a young school-aged child. The illustrations are beautifully done and worth taking time to digest.
I found this book to be particularly interesting on a few points--first, that the girl is brave enough to spend the night by herself in the woods, and secondly, that her parents find her at her favorite place in the end. This book feels instructive to both children and parents alike. It highlights courage and initiative in children to find their own constructive entertainment. The book seems to caution parents to give proper time and attention to their children or else they may turn to other sources for comfort and entertainment. The final emotion this book evokes is one of relief and joy at finding that the girl's parents have met her at the sea--that they do, in fact, have time for her. Perhaps the girl's interpretation of her parents actions was incorrect? Perhaps her parents recognized their mistake? Either way, the end is a happy, satisfying one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.
This was a really simple story about a little girl who feels invisible in her family. She leaves to go off on her own to her happy place. The illustrations are very well done. I wish there was more to the story; it seemed to be suited to a board book rather than a picture book.