Melissa Castrillón

Melissa Castrillón, the talented illustrator who contributed the artwork for Nina Laden's Yellow Kayak and If I Had a Little Dream, here presents her own picture-book. Mostly wordless, save for the occasional theme word - "Home," "Good-bye," "Hope," "Bloom," "Friends," and then "Home" again - the story here follows a young girl as she moves from her home in the country to a new place in the city. Sad at first, the girl plants a balcony garden that soon spreads all over her neighborhood, show more leading to a friendship that make her feel at home again...

Having greatly appreciated Castrillón's work in the titles mentioned above, I picked up The Balcony with every expectation of enjoyment, and I was not disappointed. I find her illustrations lovely, with a beautiful color palette, and an almost tapestry-like folk-art feeling to them. They are more than enough to carry the story, when taken with the occasional word that points the reader in the right direction. The story itself reminds me a bit of Peter Brown's The Curious, which also featured the theme of greening an urban space, and which was a welcome association. The design of the book - tale and narrow in dimension, decorative endpapers - added to my enjoyment as well. Recommended to fellow Melissa Castrillón fans, to those who enjoy (mostly) wordless picture-books, and to anyone seeking children's stories about moving and/or the importance of green spaces in urban environments. show less

Lovely art; almost wordless; sophisticated storyline

A girl moves with her family to the city, when her mom gets a new job there. She misses the country but meets a friend who helps her start a balcony garden. It is magical and believable.

impulse Pima

I almost loved it. I do think it would have been a great book to read during lockdown, in the early stage of the covid-19 pandemic (even though it was published the year before). But experienced readers like me have seen many similar stories, done better, before.

I felt the influence of two very early children's artists, [a:Virginia Lee Burton|15450|Virginia Lee Burton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1301112042p2/15450.jpg] (ie [b:The Little House|153540|The Little show more House|Virginia Lee Burton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363184334l/153540._SX50_.jpg|31274]) and [a:Wanda Gág|5051196|Wanda Gág|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1558125688p2/5051196.jpg]. show less