The illustrations are well done. However, this isn't a book I'd buy for my own child or classroom and it isn't a book I'd recommend to others with kids, so I can't rate it highly. The idea of having the ants that are enjoying a messy kid's crumbs write out a letter had potential. I could see it working. But this story as a whole felt like it lacked something. I'm not really sure what message we're supposed to get out of reading this.

Before I launch into my review, I would like to say a warm thank you to Cortney Cino, Whimspire Books, and Netgalley for the Advanced Digital Reader Copy of this title. For anyone with their eye on this title, here is my personal review of the book to help you decide whether you are interested or not. All opinions offered are my own.

Quirky, comedic, and relatable, I love, love, love this book.

Written from the perspective of an ant named Antonia, with the occasional interruption from mum and dad, this book is a lesson in how to offer constructive criticism. Antonia and friends enjoyed their stay at Jay’s house but feel it is time to move on. Read the book to find out why.

I found this book to be original. What a great concept! I enjoyed it, my kids enjoyed it, and it’s a book I will buy and recommend to parents and caregivers of very young children.

I enjoyed the satire throughout the book that will probably be lost to the target audience, thought the illustrations were beautiful, and valued the fact that this book could be a teaching aid when it comes to requesting children to respect the home and clean up their mess. I also appreciated the facts about ants at the end of the book.

An absolutely brilliant book that will be consulted and laughed over again and again. 5 out of 5 stars doesn’t even begin to cut it.

The illustrations are cute and I love the ant facts at the end but I don’t really know what the point of the book is unless it’s to encourage messy eaters? Which I don’t know that most parents will love.

This little wholesome story is beautifully illustrated. I really liked the way the story was written out through the illustrations.

I love the way this is written like a letter by the ant Antonia and I think this book will teach kids that even thought little creatures like ants look insignificant, they are special too. And I love that this is incorporated into the story. A little bit of learning while enjoying the beautiful illustrations.
It also shows why we should clean up after ourselves as this can attract little creatures we might not want in our home.

Thanks netgalley for this arc!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

This is a silly tale about ants who inhabit the home of a young boy and his parents. I think little kids will find this book to be very humorous and I can see it being a bedtime favorite. I especially enjoyed the illustrations in this book.

This book is cute, if a little gross. The message isn't quite clear enough that we don't want to leave food messes because it attracts ants. Kids could end up wanting to leave messes because they can make friends with ants.

This book was cute! A fun little children's story told from the perspective of an ant. The art was fun to look at and definitely added to the narrative.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. I absolutely love the premise of this book, and the art is adorable, but I found the writing a little awkward, especially reading aloud.

I was initially drawn to this book as my name is also Antonia. Unfortunately, I can't say I enjoyed it any further than that though, As a whole the book has no real story. There isn't a definitive beginning, middle or end with no form of character development at all.

Visually the backgrounds of each page is lovely. They're well fleshed out with great details. The character design though is a very different case. The main character has a hard to ignore shaped head and is drawn in a completely different style to the way in which his parent's are drawn. Perspective, scale and ratio were also quite questionable and hard to ignore.

A shame overall and I've been left quite confused by how this book has been able to get to publication stage with all the above.

Thank you to NetGalley and Whimspire Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I enlisted my trusty children book readers to help, ages 4 and 8, and they confirmed that my adult perspective was sound - Sincerely, Antonia is a hit with kids. Told from the perspective of an ant who has written a letter to a kid thanking him for his hospitality, the illustrations make this short and sweet read especially appealing, and the concept is hilarious. I had fun asking them to find the ants on the pages (easier for them with young eyes), and we all learned just a little bit about these invasive little creatures. Bonus for any adults looking to instil some lessons to kids - they now understand why we only eat at the table (though the 8 year old seems a little too enamored by the thought of wooing his own Antonia to the house…). If you’re not sure what will go over well with children, this is cute and well done, geared more to the much younger set.

This is a very cute story told from the point of view of an ant. It would be a great way to teach point of view in grade 3 or higher. The details in the art work are well done also from the ant's perspective. I enjoyed this story and think elementary students will too! A great addition to public, school and personal libraries.

Thank you Net Galley, Courtney Cino and Whimspire Books for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions shared are my own.
This title is expected to be released June 3, 2025 just in time for summer picnic season.

Very cute story written from the point of view of an ant. I love the illustrations. The book includes fun ant facts at the end. This would be great for grades preK-6.