It’s a wonderful story of loss, friendship, empathy, growth and kindness. The illustrations by Richard Johnson are just exquisite. I love The Thing - he seems like a wonderful friend to go in adventures with. This is sad, but filled with love.

The art illustrations is lovely in this children’s picture book. It is a gentle story about making a new friend and loss. You can relate it to making friends, acts of kindness and the sadness when someone leaves or moves away. It could even be used to gently discuss death (not mentioned) or other changes in life. Reading this I thought about this being the last week of school and children I’ve known since kindergarten are moving on to middle school and I may never see them again. Short and easy to read. Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children’s Book for the temporary ARC. I am leaving a voluntary review.

A young girl notices her odd neighbor, who is a Thing. The Thing is lonely so the young girl befriends him. She embraces his lifestyle and odd habits of drinking gravy and eating mustard. She notices how sad he can be, so she invites other Things over to have a party for him. But little do we know that it turns out to be a going away party, as the Thing soon leaves after.
“All Things have to go sometimes.”

This book is touching and heartbreaking. I think this could spark dialogues like “what things do you think come and go?” Like people, and moods.
I loved the artwork!
4/5 stars

Adorable children's books about loss, loneliness and being a good neighbor and friend. Beautiful pictures. Would highly recommend.

This is a pleasant children’s book that addresses loneliness and friendship. It’s about a young girl who befriends a “Thing” who lives in a house on her street.

I thought that the concept was charming and cute but it felt like something was missing. I think the meaning at the end could have been extended a bit to fully capture the lesson that the little girl experiences. Maybe a few extra pages where the girl starts to understand loneliness and how we can help others just by being friends. Those things are present but I would have liked a little more.

Other than that, the book was lovely. The art is very pretty and I especially liked the character design for the “Thing” - adorable!

All in all a nice read!

To be a kid is to be very observant. Their heart is always in the right place to make things right. In this story the child catches a glimpse of loneliness and is certain of what they must to help.

As you spend time with someone, you have the power to lift up their spirits, and renew their hope. That’s quite a feat!

I was drawn to pick up this book because of the cover— two figures sitting on top of a rooftop and viewing an evening that is making way for that blue that lingers after a beautiful sunset. It’s dreamy and appropriate for a reading experience near nighttime or in my case 2:22am lol

It also seems to touch at loss and grief at the end in a way that can help a child understand it as more than just sadness and a farewell…

This was a beautifully illustrated book of love, acceptance, and coping with loss. The illustrations are beautiful and the characters are completely loveable. This was a great children's book that I hope to sell in my shop!

A compassionate daughter-mother duo befriend the Thing that lives at No. 52 on their street, and their adventures will delight readers of every age. This picture book will open doors to conversations about making and being a friend and about appreciating people — and Things — despite their differences.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

What an amazing book for helping children to explore a whole range of big feelings that we will all experience at some point in our lives. It is absolutely a book that would be perfect for an adult and child to share together to start one of those tricky conversations that need to be had but which are often difficult to start. I loved the relationship between the two main characters which developed as a result of a simple act of kindness. The gorgeous illustrations complement the story perfectly and the colours in them change as the story evolves.

Reminding me a little of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are? and one of our favourite picture books, The Queen on Our Corner by Lucy Christopher and Nia Tudor, this is another picture book that has both incredible illustrations and a beautifully moving story. Focusing on the themes of loneliness, kindness, unlikely friendships, community and grief, it has so many layers you'll come away with something new each time you read it.

When a girl's small act of kindness blossoms into a beautuful friendship, a whole community of Things are brought together. But everyone has to go some time and when their friendship comes to an end, will the girl be able to move on?

This is an example of words and pictures working together in perfect harmony to create a Thing that is quite extraordinary. Told through the curious and kind eyes of a child, it will allow readers to explore topics with a gentle hand, rather than providing answers.

Everything about this book is beautifully understated. It's a story where what is not said is as important as what is and every word on every page has been crafted. The illustrations reminded me a lot of David Litchfield's work and is rich in both colour and heart. Ross Montgomery has created something truly moving here and this is a picture book we have taken to our hearts.

A girl befriends a lonely monster that lives in her neighborhood. Her and the monster go on adventures. She introduces the monster to other monsters. The monster grows old and has to go away. The story deals with friendship, differences, acceptance, loneliness and change. The illustrations were beautiful.

I thought that this was a beautiful book with some truly perfect illustrations that really bought the story to life, they were some of the best I have seen in a children’s book for a long time and they really worked with the story to be soft and gentle

The story was easy to read and understand, I read it with my 5 year old daughter, or rather she read the book to me, and we really enjoyed it

She understood why there was sadness but really liked the ending and the way the book had progressed. It would be a great book to use to discuss loss and changes

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

This is a book loneliness, grief, and loss. Be sure to read this one with your child, so that you can have an open discussion about this difficult subject matter.

Beautiful art. Sad but hopeful story that is especially fitting for children who have experienced the loss of a friend or family member. This can be an important tool to open communication and to aid the healing process.

It was quite good.

MY THOUGHTS:
📌 Illustration and the colors
I loved the illustration; it was perfect for me. "Flawless," I would like to say. And the colors that used in this book, were very good; they reminded me of the colors that I usually see in Disney or Dreamworks animation.

📌 The Story 
I didn't really like the story in this book; I think the author wanted to try to introduce difficult topics to children, such as loneliness, grieving, and how you cope with that. But the author failed to make it suitable for children, and the story ended up being all over the place for me.

📌 If the author is trying to explain those difficult topics, I think it needs to be 10–20 pages longer. So maybe it will be easier to understand it..

MY OWN CONFUSION:
🤔 I didn't know what kind of creature was used to portray "Thing" ('Thing' is a name that is used in the story). Is that a dog or some kind of weird creature? But it seemed like a dog since that thing has a lot of fur.

A QUIZ FOR YOU:
⁉️ So I have a quiz for you, my friends, and people who have read this book. Can you see the cover of this book? That white creature with a lot of fur is our "Thing." Tell me what kind of creature that is.

Share your opinion in the comment section.....😆

CREDIT:
Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is sweet, heartwarming, short story about loneliness and friendship. The illustrations are gorgeous but I feel that the story could've been a little bit longer.

Oh, it is heartwarming! It addresses loneliness, companionship, grief, and moving on. Also, it includes gorgeous illustrations that will put you in comfort. Though I enjoyed it, I think the story could be a little bit deeper.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for an ARC.

This beautiful little children’s book broke my heart. But in a good way? The illustrations are so whimsical, tans the story is wholesome and sad all at the same time. I could see myself reading this to my son one day. Teaching him about making friends with unlikely people and coping with loss and the tough moments life can throw at you. Thank you NetGalley for the arc! ✨🌸

This picture book has cute illustrations, and it tells a story about a girl who befriends the lonely Thing next door, has adventures with the Thing, and must then say goodbye. The story will resonate with people who have moved a lot or are coping with loss, but I found this too vague and abstract for my tastes. The story seems to go in too many different directions all at once, trying to pack in as many metaphorical takeaway messages as possible. Adults will have the life experience to impose meaning on everything that happens, but young children are likely to find the story confusing and abrupt.

Beautifully illustrated and beautifully written. This book draws you in with the illustrations and the opening line really hooks the reader right from the start. The story deals with friendship, grief, and loss in such a way that allows children to simply explore these feelings in a positive and loving manner.

I love this one. I bawled my eyes out reading it. It is a beautiful touching story about all those serendipitous meetings we have in our lives. It teaches children to be kind and to accept that it is the length of life but the richness of its content that matters.

And the illustration has a very dreamy feel to it. I love it, absolutely love it!