Quiet Girl by Peter Carnavas is a beautiful picture book worth reading.

Quiet Mary hears a lot because she's so timid and quiet. Her quietness gives her an amazing ability: She can appreciate the better things in life - like dragonflies buzzing and dogs snoring. But, her low volume means many people don't hear her or even listen. It started to become a problem, and she felt like she wasn't even there. Until one day, people listened.

The illustrations remind me of old school Charlie Brown - simplistic, colourful and nostalgic. It was a very homey feeling. There's also a section on mindfulness which I think is super helpful for children (and adults alike) to learn!

It's such a sweet little story that makes for a great children's picture book. I utterly adore it and I highly recommend it.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pajama Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

Mary is a quiet girl. Because she is quiet she experiences all the little things in nature through her senses. Her family however is busy and noisy, not fully attending to Mary until they suddenly realize she is missing. When they find her, they all take time to sit and experience nature with her.

The point of this book is to teach mindfulness, but I am not sure it’s successful. Mary is a naturally quiet child who gets lost in between her loud siblings, family, and a world full of noise. It’s only when everyone quiets down that she can be found and heard. I think the thing I don’t like about this book is that Mary disappears as if she never existed or as if no one wants her, until they are quiet. I get the message, I'm just not a fan of how it was done. Also there is no diversity of characters in this book. ( )