A while back I saw two online reader copies that had intriguing covers (or thumbnails of the cover as it was only a small image). I liked them, but figured I knew what they were about by judging the cover. Thank You, Night and Thank You, Rain looked like they would be nice father and child stories. One set at night and one set in/around a rainy day. And I was not wrong. (Yes, I read them eventually.) They had more to them than those basic elements, but what I thought they would be (sweet and cozy, not overly complex) they were.
I read them, did a quick note on a recommendation site, and got an email from a new representative from the publisher a few days later that was a mixture of subjects. They first reintroduced themselves to myself and the buyer. This person was a former coworker of ours who had worked in our sister store! She thanked me for reading these two books of the Thank You World series and off to business things.
This got me thinking about the publisher. What else have I read from them? What else was I interested in? And that led to four titles read and now reviewed here.
The first, of course, are Thank You, Night and Thank You, Rain by Dan McCauley and illustrated by Jo Loring-Fisher. Both are due in mid-October 2024. The Night one is about a boy unable to sleep, he’s having an off time. He and his father then take a walk in the dark neighborhood. This turns into a mindful experience of paying attention to the things around them. He is then able to relax and sleep. The second is about two siblings and their dad also taking a walk, but it is out in the rain. And though the kids, at first, are unsure of being out in the rain, they too find themselves enjoying their walk, being aware of their surroundings. The illustrations are what you see on the cover. The blues and darker colors of the night and what a rainy day gives you. They are not WOW but they are good and squishy (not solid, but not liquid).
And this “squishy” feeling happens in the other two books as well with various degrees. B Is for Belonging (due August 2024; read via an online reader) by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by John Joven is a soft alphabet book about mindfulness and belonging terms. There is nothing surprising about things, but that is fine. It works for what is needed. The illustrations are not my particular style, being a bit too cute, off-centered cartoon, but they work as well. They are a person-by-person like or dislike. There are a plethora of extras at the end, including activities to do with children.
And finally, there is Hello, Beech Tree! by Rasha Hamid and illustrated by Sofia Moore (currently available; read via an online reader). The publisher description says it best with: Based on real events, this charming story features a kindergarten class in Brooklyn who pays homage to their beloved lost beech tree and takes action to plant a new one. The book follows the kids as they visit, play, and picnic with the tree. One day they find it has been cut down. They ask a ranger why (it is sick and they didn’t want it to fall on someone). The kids eventually learn how much it costs to plant a new one (I hadn’t realized how much this was until I started looking into doing a memorial one for a friend) and they fundraise the money. They then continue the cycle of playing with it, and also a new group of students (as it took over a year to do everything). The artwork here is more realistic, but still soft and not too hard. It is colorful but not popping off the page. The details are just right and everything comes together, complementing each other.