Wallpaper

It's a very vivid and engaging story without having any words mucking about. I love that there are lots of opportunities for discussion throughout the pages that parents, caregivers, and educators can seize upon to keep children engaged until the end.

With vibrant illustrations, Thao Lam challenges readers to explore the depths of their imagination in considering what a young girl might feel while staring at wallpaper after a move.

Wallpaper is a wordless story that's beautifully illustrated with paper collage art. It tells the tale of a young girl who has just moved into a new house, and is nervous about meeting the new children next door. Instead, she takes a journey into the wallpaper where she is chased by an odd yellow creature through several layers of amusingly decorated wallpaper before she realizes the monster just needs a friend.

Her friendship with the imaginary creature helps give her the courage to say hello to some potential new friends in the real world. I appreciated seeing shyness covered in a children's book, and I also liked the interplay between fantasy and reality. The different "worlds" in the different layers of wallpaper were also well done.

This is adorable! I loved the artistic style and colors. I can see children really enjoying this book at my library.

ARC COPY...Very beautiful paper cute/college style of illustrations depicting a girl who just moved in(and maybe new to country) who is shy about meeting new kids (their speech sounds like foreign bleh bleh to her), peels her wallpaper to reveal new worlds while confronting her "fear" monster at the same time. I found it to be a beautiful read.

Wallpaper was a beautiful wordless picture book about one little girl feeling sad and left out while the other children are playing outdoors. She discovers a little tear in the wallpaper in her room where a bird escapes from. As she peels back the layers of wallpaper, she discovers more adventures waiting for her from birds and rainforests to monsters, frogs, sheep and eventually friends. Courage erupts after her adventures and friendship making in the wallpaper.
It is a beautifully created idea and book. I look forward to sharing this story with children for many years to come.

This beautiful wordless picture book is the epitome of talent - starring Thao Lam's signature paper collage style illustrations.

A shy young girl moves into a new home, and being new, doesn't know any of the kids in her neighbourhood. She can hear them chatting and playing outside her window but she is too shy and apprehensive to go outside and meet them.

She feels so lonely and sad. She retreats to her room and idly starts scratching away at her wallpaper. As the tear gets bigger she discovers a portal into a magical world of strange characters and exciting adventures.

While visiting there she interacts with flying birds, frogs splashing about in their pond, and a flock of funky looking sheep. Then the unthinkable happens... she finds herself in danger (or so she imagines) by an alien-like monster who starts chasing her. Oh my! She is very frightened and runs to get away from him. Then it dons on her that he is not threatening her at all but only wants to befriend her. She does an about turn and bravely approaches him and says "hello!" Thereafter they romp and interact and have a wonderful happy playtime together.

When she returns to her reality in her bedroom she discovers she has been emboldened by the wallpaper encounters and with a courageous heart she approaches the kids outdoors and says, "hello!"

This book is perfect to share and discuss. It will encourage and inspire kids to overcome their fears, overpower obstacles and step out into life and say "hello!" The illustrations are truly amazing and I love the interaction between the little girl's imagination and her reality. "Wallpaper" is creative on so many levels and a book I highly recommend.

This wordless picture book would make a fine learning tool for story telling with little ones and big ones! Very creative telling on how to make friends! Love the art work!

This cut-out style art is one of my favorites, and I could stare at each page for hours. I love that each page tells its own story. It's incredible the story making capabilities you have when there are no words. These books are popular with my deaf and hard of hearing students because they can have the freedom to create their own stories without the pressure to decipher the texts first to learn what is going on. What a beautiful, beautiful book.

I'm a sucker for a gorgeous wordless picture book.

The unnamed protagonist has just moved into a new home with her family and is nervous to make friends. While hiding from kids in a tree house she can see from her window, she notices a tear in the wallpaper and tugs on it and out pops out a yellow bird! From there, layers and payers of wallpaper are torn away and new worlds are visited, new friends made, but after she gets, she can't get back into the wallpaper world. Instead, she ventures outside and to the tree house to make new, human friends.

The artwork is gorgeous and the dimensions of the photo collage is stunning. A great addition to moving books, friendships books, and wordless picture books.

This is a fabulous wordless graphic novel. Yes, a graphic novel, with amazing paper cut graphics. It tells the story of the new girl in town how goes on a grand adventure through the wall paper in her room. It’s amazing. Pick it up, you and your kids won’t be disappointed.

A shy girl moves into a new home, but is too shy to say hello to the children across the street. Instead, she peels back a layer of wallpaper and finds a world of imagination, mystery and the courage to try something new.

Gorgeous cut paper illustrations, and a great message to kids that when moving to a new, unfamiliar place it's okay to not want to go out immediately and make friends. Sometimes you need to build up courage and be alone first.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I love this book! Even as a wordless picture book it sends a strong message about being brave and finding the courage to face new and different situations in your life! The illustrations are awesome, coming to life as they seem to pop off the page! Thao Lam has painted a beautiful story, one where you can relate to the very emotions the little girl is experiencing throughout the book! This book is one I look forward to adding to my personal collection!

A little girl who has just moved in is eyeing kids next door having fun but is too scared to go over there. She notices a part of the wall paper is peeling back and peeks underneath it…only to find a strange new world where she learns that strangers may not be scary monsters but future friends just waiting for you to say hello.

This book is almost entirely wordless. There are a few sound words, and one hello. That’s it. The rest of the story is told through Lam’s brilliant and imaginative collages. Meeting new people comes naturally for some kids (to the point their parents wish they wouldn’t say hello to every single stranger that crosses their path) whereas other kids struggle with gathering the courage to say hello. This book uses symbolism to communicate their very real emotions about meeting new people (and some adults’ too) and encourages them to at least try saying hello. As an introvert I definitely understand this little girl, but I also agree with the message. Don’t miss out on great potential friendships because of fear. So use this book to help encourage the little introverts around you and/or the kids who have moved one too many times and find it hard to make the effort to start new friendships.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing book! It is difficult to find ways to make images tell stories as well as this book does. The artist approach (layers) of materials is amazing. I could look at this book for hours. I am certain to include this in my wordless book collection.

Wordless picturebooks should not be overlooked, and Lam's "Wallpaper" is no exception. Flowing through the pages of this book takes readers on an emotional journey of how a young girl finds a sense of courage. As someone who is an ultimate introvert and occasionally feels the plight of social anxiety, I felt such kinship to our protagonist. The young girl sees other kids playing in a tree house outside her bedroom window, but quickly hides when they spot her. In her shyness, the girl begins to peel back layers and layers of wallpaper in her bedroom, eventually finding a whole world, complete with imaginary friend. However, after eating lunch, the young girl finds her imaginary friend has left. Realizing her courage and desire for friendship, this brave protagonist treads outside to say hello to the children in the tree house.

Lam does a brilliant job sharing this story through illustrations, including the use of graphic novel-like gutters. The subtleties in changing facial expressions and body language capture the changes in characters' emotions and propel the story forward. Meanwhile, unlike the popular wordless picturebook "Sidewalk Flowers," "Wallpaper" uses a vast array of colour throughout the book, which helps readers jump into the mind and imagination of our young protagonist. Overall, this is a brilliant new picturebook that readers both young and old will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley, I graciously read an advanced copy of this picture book in exchange for an honest review.

A young girl moves into a new neighborhood, but is too shy to greet the neighborhood kids playing outside her window. She notices a little bird peeking at her from an upturned piece of wallpaper, and follows the bird on an exciting journey! She releases a flock of birds, wanders into a flower-filled garden, and escapes from a monster as she discovers world after world.

The collage illustration is breathtaking. This is a wordless book that could be used as easily in a storytime as it can in a creative writing class or an art class. The collage artwork is so colorful, so crisp, and so textured, that it appears to stand apart from the page - my own son tried to tap my tablet, seeing if it would cause a flap to lift, or a bird to fly. Thao Lam creates world after world for her protagonist, and us readers, to explore, marvel at, and thrill to. Her protagonist is a child of color and the children in her neighborhood are a wonderfully diverse group, making Wallpaper an exciting journey for all kids. As a librarian in an urban system, I can put this book out on my desk and have the kids in my children's room identify with all of the children in this book - now, I'll have to figure out how to explain a possible rash of torn wallpaper to parents...

Wallpaper is a must-have book for collections. I'm interested in exploring this as a book discussion choice, where my kids tell me what worlds they'd like to find if they were in the same situation. And come on: how much fun will it be to have kids create their own collage art? Have magazines and some weeded picture and easy reader books available to cut up.

A wordless story about finding friendship, illustrated in beautiful paper collage style. A shy little girl moves into a new house and is hesitant to make new friends. She discovers a hidden world of adventures beneath layers of wallpaper in her bedroom, which ultimately give her the courage to meet the children playing in a tree house outside her window. A lovely story for any child in a new place or dealing with social anxiety.

Thank you Netgalley and Owlkids Publishers for a copy in exchange for a review.

A book that immediately put me in mind of Aaron Becker’s JOURNEY. A young girl moves to a new house and unleashes some magic by peeling back the wallpaper in her room by going on a journey and getting chased by a monster. I adored the cut-paper illustrations.