Over the shop by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng

This wordless story, told in a series of small pictures, starts with a gray-washed sky and a little girl waking up in the shabby apartment where she lives with her grouchy grandparent. She shows cheerful enthusiasm in every line of her little body, while her grandparent, deep frown lines etched into their face, wearily hauls things out in front of their shabby store. Indifferent to the casual glance of a neighbor, the grandparent angrily shoos away a stray cat and plods on with their day, preparing to put up a sign to rent their upstairs apartment. The little girl follows the stray cat hopefully to feed it, and watches eagerly as passersby begin to check out the apartment.

But as a series of people, single, couples, with pets, come and look at the dirty, desolate attic apartment, one by one they leave and at each departure the grandparent grows more discouraged and even the little girl starts to lose hope. Then, just as they take down the sign, one more couple appears. The little girl insists on giving them a chance and they rent the apartment unseen. Like a breath of fresh air, the two women blow into the building, waving a cheery hello to the neighbors, and enlisting the little girl to help them as they scrub, repair, decorate, and improve throughout the seasons that follow. When spring comes again, the stray cat finds a home with the couple, the grandparent has warmed to them and they help out in the shop, and the story ends with the couple sharing a sweet kiss at a dinner that includes a now-smiling landlord, delighted little girl, purring cat, and their neighbor. The street is now the soft gray and blue of night, speckled with warmth and light from the windows, and touched with the color of a Pride flag on the store, flowers, and fresh paint.

This is not an ideal storytime choice, even if you are comfortable with using wordless books in storytime, because you need time to absorb the details and a close view to get a good look at the pastel watercolors that make up the story in a series of panels without borders. However, it would be a good choice for a program or school unit on wordless books and for elementary kids to practice their visual literacy and to create their own words to match the story.

Verdict: This is a heart-warming story to enjoy with a very small group or one-on-one, as a bedtime story. If you are looking for more social-emotional titles or have the audience, it's a recommended purchase.

ISBN: 9781536201475; Published January 2021 by Candlewick; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library