This is either a five-star read (because it is beautifully illustrated) or a three-star read (because it glorifies running away from home).

The protagonist's parents ignore her and she decides to run off to her favorite place: the sea. She is familiar with the overnight journey and encounters forest creatures along the way. While I felt bad for her, I also commiserated with her desire to escape to nature; but the second I saw her sleeping in the woods, all I could think of was how frantic her parents must be feeling.

Meet Me by the Sea is a beautifully illustrated picture book by Taltal Levi about the narrator's connection with nature and family, and about the power of being seen. Helpful for discussions with children about the spaces they feel comfortable, and the people and places they carry with them.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meet me by the Sea is a story about a little girl who feels like her parents don't have time for her. So she decided to go to her favorite place and spent the night in the forest, where she met a little fox. At first, the fox disappeared but then started to follow the little girl and gave her the feeling that she's perhaps not as invisible as she thought. The little girl and the fox continued in their journey together to the cliffs above the sea, which are a girl's favorite place because she'd visited this place with her parents. That was the moment when her parents found her and they went home together.

It's important for parents to read this book with their child/ren to explain to them that leaving the house alone is really dangerous and that if they're missing their parents' attention, the best solution is to communicate with them. And, writing this a a parent myself, Meet me by the Sea showed me that sometimes my work is not as important as I think it is and I should spend more time with my child so he never feels lonely or invisible.

At last, but not least, I really liked the style of illustrations in this book and I'll recommend it as a great book for both children and parents.

The little girl in the story goes to her favorite place and reignites her courage by being alone in the wilderness, reawakens her curiosity by befriending the unfamiliar, and reminding herself that things (and people) that matter never fade—lessons that transcend age, time, and boundaries. The lean storytelling and soft, lovely art complement each other well, making it an even more endearing for any reader. I loved this.

Thank you North South Books Inc. and NetGalley for the advance digital reading copy of this book.

This was an interesting book about feelings and dealing with those feeling by visiting your favorite place to lighten your heart. I loved the illustrations of the fox in this book; these illustrations perfectly depict what it is like to meet a fox in the wild.

Meet Me by the Sea van Taltal Levi is een rijkelijk geïllustreerd prentenboek, met een mini-avontuur dat ook geschikt is voor kleine kinderen.

Een meisje neemt het heft in eigen hand als haar ouders geen aandacht hebben voor haar wens om naar zee te gaan. Dan gaat ze zelf wel op weg.

Het schutblad is prachtig. Als een boek een mooi schutblad heeft dan scoor je punten bij mij. Er zit textuur in de waterverf illustraties - zelfs bij een e-book kun je dat bijna voelen - en je kunt zien dat het met de hand gemaakt is. Bij de titel ziet elke letter ‘E’ er bijvoorbeeld net iets anders uit. Het oogt heel prettig. Yep, de illustraties vallen direct in de smaak. Oh, en het vosje. Ik ben gek op vossen.

De auteur gebruikt redelijk rustige kleuren en zet deze heel zacht op papier. Als je waterverf zelf mengt dan kun je de kleur natuurlijk zo fel of ingetogen maken als je wilt. Levi is duidelijk meer van de kalme kleuren. Dit heeft als voordeel dat je dan iets eruit kunt laten knallen, zoals het heldere oranje van de vos. Heel in de verte doen de illustraties me denken aan The boy, the horse, the fox and the mole van Charlie Mackesy omdat je daar ook de afzonderlijke streken van het penseel kunt zien. Maar hier zie je ook nog de ietwat groffe structuur van het papier. Oh man, ik ben fan!

Het is een klein avontuur dat jonge kinderen zal aanspreken, omdat het jonge personage er zelf op uitgaat, ’s nachts alleen buiten slaapt – spannend! – en het uiteindelijk allemaal fijn afloopt. En wie droomt er als kind nou niet van om vriendjes te worden met een wild dier?

Meet Me By the Sea is a short but sweet story of a little girl who goes to her favourite place on her own. It is a lovely story with beautiful illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and North South Books Inc.for my ARC.

This was an adorable children’s book! Short, simple, and sweet, this follows a little girl going on a walk to the sea,

I absolutely love the art style of this book, and I’m going to look into other works by this author now! I had never heard of Taltal Levi before I saw this available to read on NetGalley,

I will say that I think I would have liked a little bit more from the story, but it’s a children’s picture book and those are usually short and I imagine a child would get exactly what they want out of it!

I LOVED IT! The illustration is gorgeous and the story is short but heartwarming. It's a perfect bedtime story with a simple yet beautiful message.

A young girl feels invisible, to her parents, to the world. She goes to her happy place, quite literally - she goes on a walk outside, in nature. A fox appears, disappears, reappears. All the girl wants is to share her favourite place by the sea with the fox, with her parents.

Sparse text accompanies beautiful paintings, of the girl, of nature, of her parents, of her favourite place.

It manages to be unpretentiously deep, about feeling connected, and about making connections. To use any more words feels like misrepresenting the book.

. A beautiful picture book that shares a simple yet powerful message. A bit of magic found in the forest adds to the allure of this picture book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. My toddler and I enjoyed reading this together several times over. The artwork is beautiful and with not a lot of text, it gave us the opportunity to talk about the pictures and really take them in. We loved the little fox friend the most. Looking forward to owning a copy.

A beautiful story about a spunky girl and her adventure in the woods. Looking to find some peace and quiet she heads off to her favorite place and even meets a surprise friend. A gorgeously illustrated story, I completely fell in love with the artwork! This is a great read and definitely just brings about a sense of serenity and makes you want to go out on your own adventure.

*Thanks netgalley for sending me an arc*

What a whimsical story! The illustrations are lovely and enchanting, while the simple story pulls on your heartstrings.
A girl feeling invisible because her parents are plugged in goes to find her favorite place in nature, only to be met with an exciting surprise.
I love the feeling of adventure, heartbreak, and hope in this sweet story. So simple, yet so much expressed in the illustrations and short thoughts.

What surprises await you, on the way to the sea? This is a heartwarming story of a shy yet curious little girl who runs away to the happy place outside, to remind her of who she loves, and them of her. We follow her quiet journey through the woods, with a few surprises and even an unexpected friend along the way. I love the simple but expressive, almost ethereal-feeling illustrations: they have such a nice tactile feel about them and a great sense of color throughout. I did wonder where her parents were while she was wandering through the woods, though! Whew.

The illustrations in this book are adorable and pleasing to the eye. The overall concept of the story, dealing with feeling invisible, is one that seems underexplored in children's literature. I am happy to have seen this book in that regard then. But I also found the idea of a girl going by herself to her favorite place without telling her parents, a bit terrifying, certainly not something I would want my own children to do. I wish the book encouraged the children to reach out to their friends and/or parents to find solutions to feeling invisible.

There are times when we may feel lonely or not seen. Everyone is busy! This young girl feels that way and she knows what she needs to do to feel that connection once again. It is always nice when others need the same connection as well.

There is a real connection to this story that is beautifully illustrated and worded.

A Special Thank you to North South Books, Inc and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

I am not sure what to make of this book. The adult reader in me (that I can’t help but be) has concerns.
I will get to those later, but first, let’s talk about what I love.

I love the illustrations. The colour palette, the style, the simplicity is lovely, and so well suited to the story. I love the fact that, after the first reading, I went back, to look more closely at the pictures, because we can learn a lot from what we see in those first few pages. Like the cross look on the girls face, to the painting of the cliff, and the drawing of the fox.

I love the text. It is sparse and as I said earlier it works perfectly with the illustrations.

My concern is that it took the parents until the next morning to find their daughter? So this is an aspect of the story that could be up for debate. Did they really not notice she was gone until the next day? Hopefully not.

OR... did they know exactly where she was (she did leave a letter on the sideboard as she left), and knew that she would be safe to have an overnight adventure?

That will be something for readers to think about, and I can't wait to talk about with other readers.

This book was beautiful and adorable. A great reminder to stop, listen, and take a minute to enjoy. Great for our time.

Taltal Levi made a beautiful picturebook called Meet me by the Sea.

A beautiful story about a little girl who loves the ocean, and loves to go there. Most of all when she can do this with her parents. But this time her parents aren't able to because they are to busy and that's why she decides to go by her self with a picture of her parents. And after a while she finds out, her parents came to find her there.

The beautiful illustrations give you the feeling that you are looking towards the ocean and walking trought the hills. The pictures are just amazing!

The story is perfect in times where parents work at home and have lots of things to do. It shows children that there are options to do things, if you take the time. And it shows parents the importance of sharing time with your child.