While I enjoyed Amelia Bothe’s Ellie Has a Secret, (due mid-August 2025) for the story, I mostly enjoyed the illustrations. The story itself is not new (which is about a child having a secret that makes the “tummy wobbles” happen), but the illustrations really grabbed my attention. They are not overly colorful, but do not lack in that area either. They are detailed, but not overly so. Sometimes they can be a bit busy, but it does not distract or take away from the experience.
Overall, the idea of a secret taking over our thoughts is not unique, but the set up is. Ellie is playing in the classroom sandbox during the rainy day indoor recess as she likes to find the hidden treasure in it. When she finds this perfect shell, she pockets it. At lunch she is quietly admiring it, and that is when the Secret shows up. It is a small, somewhat furry/feathery dragon-like creature. It is cute, but maybe a little bit, well sneaky looking. And at first, Ellie likes her secret. After all, it is small, cute and clever. But as the day goes on the Secret grows, becoming so big she cannot eat dinner, she cannot sleep and she certainly cannot go to school as it is so enormous it blocks everything. Of course, we know she will eventually tell a trusted adult, and things will work out, but the build up for the at least five and up crowd will learn alongside Ellie.
Read via an online readers copy, I will find a finished copy to learn of the final dimensions and to see how the illustrations look in their completed form.