Review - Every Little Letter

Every Little Letter
by Deborah Underwood
illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz
Date: 2020
Publisher: Dial Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

For fans of The Word Collector and Be Kind comes a story of words, walls, and widening your world, by New York Times bestselling author Deborah Underwood

Small h has always lived with the other H's in a city surrounded by walls that keep them safe. At least, that's what the big H's say. But one day, a hole in the wall reveals someone new on the other side. When little h and little i meet, they make a small word with big meaning: "hi!" The other H's find out, though. They fill the hole. But it won't be enough to keep these little letters apart--or twenty-four of their newest friends. Every Little Letter shows how even the smallest among us can make a big impact, and how a single act of friendship can inspire whole communities to come together. How do you tear down walls? With words, at first. Then brick by brick.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is quite cute. A bunch of letters have walled themselves off and are leading comfortable, sequestered lives. But the little lowercase letters soon discover that there are other letters out there, and despite the uppercase letters' attempts to stop them, they begin to make friends with the others by sharing letters one at a time.

I love the message, and the pictures are adorable. My one misgiving is one aspect of the writing, and I'm not sure if it's even something that can be helped. Because we're talking about letters, their "names" are created with apostrophes. That might not be so bad, but things take a turn for the worse when possessives are thrown in there as well. I'm not comfortable with the punctuation. However, the book would work just fine if it were read aloud. I can see this as a great storytime selection, especially for very young children.

The theme of being open to new possibilities and friends is a great one, and this book left me with a bit of a warm and fuzzy feeling. I usually enjoy Deborah Underwood's books, so I'm not surprised I liked this one.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.33 out of 5