A very sweet story about a young girl who befriends a lonely "Thing." He lives alone and doesn't have any friends. She becomes his friend and learns a lot about friendship and how to be a good friend. There's more than meets the eye with everyone and she really cares for the Thing and tries to do things to make him happy. The illustrations are adorable and not scary but show how different "Things" can be friends and care about each other.

Beautifully illustrated, with the perfect colors and mood. Explores themes such as loss, grief, friendship, moving on, growing up, and community. I love the details of the illustrations and the character design.

This is a good look at loneliness and making friends. And then looks at loss and grief and how we can help our children deal with those emotions.
Lovely illustrations too. I enjoyed this one and I think children will too.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

The Thing at 52 by Ross Montgomery.
There’s a Thing on my street.
He lives at number 52.
I see him sitting in his front yard when I walk to school.
He was big and lumbering and a wore a tiny top hat perched on top of his rather large head. She didn’t think he had any friends, so she brought him a flower.
This was a good read. Great illustrations. Loved the quick story. 5*.

The art drew me to this children’s book but the story made it even better. It’s beautiful in every way and gently talks about love and loss in a way kids and adults can relate to. I love the thing and miss my own.

I read a temporary digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.

“All things are lonely sometimes”
I moved a lot as a child so this one really hit home for me. I see this as a book where you either relate to the narrator, or you relate to the Thing she befriended. Sometimes you are the one that leaves, sometimes you are the one being left. And loneliness can grow from either situation.
This story puts a positive spin on this, while still acknowledging the emotional difficulties of being alone. I really enjoyed how this story portrayed how friendship does not bow to appearances, but the bonds created amongst people over gestures of kindness and attempts to spread love and joy.