Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

An enticing corner of wallpaper on the endpapers serves as a metaphor for turning the first page of this book: Readers will find wonders to discover inside.A brown-skinned, dark-haired girl reluctantly moves to a new home. As she unpacks in her new room, she hears a conversation outside her window. A mixed-race group of kids is playing in a treehouse, but the girl hides when they see her, too shy to say hello. Suddenly, from an upturned corner of wallpaper nearby, a bird peeks out. The girl pulls the paper back, releasing a flock of birds, and steps into a peaceful, colorful, flower-filled world. When a monster arrives with a STOMP, he terrifies the protagonist, who pulls back more wallpaper and escapes into world after world. Their chase leads to an unexpected imaginary friendship inside this magical universe—and to the courage to create new, real friendships outside. Paper-collage illustrations lend texture and depth to this fantastical story, with individual elements providing layers so real readers will want to lift them up and peek underneath. Simple shapes (triangles for trees) and careful attention to detail make complex emotions visible and real for young readers. The hand-lettered title adds to the accessibility and childlike qualities of this book.A unique and visually stunning approach to the classic dilemma of making new friends. (Picture book. 4-8)

ALA Booklist (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

In this creative, wordless picture book, Lam (Skunk on a String, 2016) introduces a sad young girl sitting in her bedroom surrounded by moving boxes. Outside, children play in a tree house, but she is too shy to join them. Instead, she picks at her wallpaper, revealing layers that draw her inside, where she passes through a jungle, a pond, and a herd of art-deco sheep. Pursued by a toothy, three-eyed monster, she is frightened until she realizes he is only looking for a friend. Lam's exquisite paper-collage illustrations employ a wide range of patterns and textures and use distinctive color schemes for each imaginary world. Jungle scenes feature green foliage, pink flora, and yellow birds, while the midnight-blue pond is filled with emerald frogs and fuchsia-flowered lily pads. The use of graphic-novel-style panels enables greater story detail, and camouflaged characters from previous layers link past and future scenes. Following a stop on the rainbow layer, the child leaves her fantasies, restored and ready to meet real kids. Satisfying visually, narratively, and emotionally.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

A girl pulls on peeling wallpaper in her new house to reveal a world she enthusiastically enters. Thus begins her mostly wordless journey through six more wallpaper layers. Within the mainly benign worlds, she's chased by a three-eyed monster that scares her--until she realizes it's only looking for friendship. Paper-collage illustrations provide depth and shadow to the compositions, and paneled spreads accelerate the action without rushing the pace.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

An enticing corner of wallpaper on the endpapers serves as a metaphor for turning the first page of this book: Readers will find wonders to discover inside.A brown-skinned, dark-haired girl reluctantly moves to a new home. As she unpacks in her new room, she hears a conversation outside her window. A mixed-race group of kids is playing in a treehouse, but the girl hides when they see her, too shy to say hello. Suddenly, from an upturned corner of wallpaper nearby, a bird peeks out. The girl pulls the paper back, releasing a flock of birds, and steps into a peaceful, colorful, flower-filled world. When a monster arrives with a STOMP, he terrifies the protagonist, who pulls back more wallpaper and escapes into world after world. Their chase leads to an unexpected imaginary friendship inside this magical universe—and to the courage to create new, real friendships outside. Paper-collage illustrations lend texture and depth to this fantastical story, with individual elements providing layers so real readers will want to lift them up and peek underneath. Simple shapes (triangles for trees) and careful attention to detail make complex emotions visible and real for young readers. The hand-lettered title adds to the accessibility and childlike qualities of this book.A unique and visually stunning approach to the classic dilemma of making new friends. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A girl with brown skin moves into a new neighborhood. Out her window, she sees three children in a tree house, and they wave. But shyness overtakes her, and she hides out in her new room, whose many layers of wallpaper are peeling. In a tour de force of mostly wordless cut-paper art, Lam (Skunk on a String) makes each layer come alive in an extended fantasy sequence. A flock of lemony birds gives way to a tropical forest, where the girl encounters a blobby monster with a toothy, underslung jaw. It pursues her until she realizes that running is futile. -Hello,- she greets it bravely; its dejected face lights up. The fantasy ends, and the girl-s newfound courage helps her greet her young neighbors with confidence. The subtle three-dimensionality of Lam-s paper collages makes the girl appear ready to jump off the page, and lines drawn on the paper provide facial expressions and other embellishments, further clarifying the action. Lam-s rich visual storytelling illuminates the way that children-s internal lives help them move through loss and anxiety. Ages 4-7. (Apr.)