My students really enjoyed this book too - they thought that the illustrations were simply gorgeous and really liked that Taltal Levi incorporated nature into the story, with the friendly fox. Reading Levi's biography at the beginning of the book really added to our understanding of her inspiration behind writing this story. It became a good reminder of having a place that is special that we can go when things become difficult or when we need space to reflect. A wonderful read!

Firstly, take a closer look at this cover. Don't you agree with me
That you're immediately attracted by this nice view on the sea?
If you want to know what's hiding behind this peaceful image, read further on
And discover the story of a little girl whose parents discover that she has gone


A NEW VOICE IN THE WORLD OF ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Taltal Levi was born in the Galilee (Israel), but she moved to Switzerland.
After graduating from Lucerne University of Arts and Design with a degree in illustration, she currently works and lives in Basel.

Her first book 'A Little Courage' was published on 04 February 2020 by NordSüd/NorthSouth Books, which is a publishing house based both in Switzerland and New York.
An interesting interview with Taltal about this debut can be found here: https://northsouth.com/2019/12/10/lets-talk-illustrators-126-taltal-levi/

The storyboard of her second picture book 'Meet me by the sea' was created during her studies at Lucerne. After she graduated, she presented it to the same publisher who will officially release the English version on 02 February 2021.


READING EXPERIENCE

'Meet me by the sea' has 24 images, most of the time with one line of text under them.

The pastel-hued watercolour illustrations are beautiful and thanks to working on cold-pressed watercolour paper there's a nice effect of texture. In addition to that some digital painting and final tweaking on photoshop were used.
Did you know that these illustrations gained her a place on the shortlist of the World Illustration Awards 2020? You can read more about that below.
If you're interested in seeing some of the pictures, you can head over to the sneak peek on the publisher's website: https://www.book2look.com/book/LGIVeB2hCY

But as nice as the artwork may be, the story is received less unanimously.
Taltal says she loves telling stories about characters who embrace their vulnerabilities and overcome obstacles.
But taking into account that the book is aimed for children between 4 and 8 years old and that the main character in this story is a little girl who decides to run away and camp in the woods because she's got the feeling to be ignored too much by her parents, it's logical that this may rise some questions. Is it a good message to pass on to children that whenever they don't feel good in their environment, it's okay to run away instead of talking about it? Or that you can safely camp in the woods on your own as a little child?

On the one hand it's totally understandable that the story leaves lots of adult readers with an uneasy feeling because of the implicit messages which not always convey the right values to learn to a child of such a young age.
On the other hand some kids think about running away one time or other in their young lives because they lack experience to resolve problems and thus this book forms an excellent opportunity to talk about that and to learn young children to think critically, even though the book on itself isn't critical and presents everything way too rosy.


SHORTLISTED FOR THE WORLD ILLUSTRATION AWARDS 2020

Since 1975 the Association Of Illustrators (AOI) organized an annual competition that was called 'Images' and was open to any British illustrator. In 2012 this competition was renamed 'Illustration Awards' and in 2015 the AOI formed a partnership with the USA-based Directory of Illustration and created the 'World Illustration Awards'.
This competition is judged by distinguished professionals from the global illustration industry and the awards celebrate illustration which is technically excellent, communicates its idea or message brilliantly and explores illustration as an artform.
In 2020 the awards were judged across ten categories: Advertising / Alternative Publishing / Book Covers / Children’s Publishing / Commercial Publishing / Design, Product & Packaging / Editorial / Exploratory / Science & Technology / Site Specific.
Although 'Meet me by the sea' from Taltal Levi wasn't one of the winners, it's a great achievement that it was selected for the shortlist of 200 works ( https://theaoi.com/wia/ ) out of the longlist of 500.


*Thanks to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'Meet Me by the Sea' is a whimsical book that follows a young girl as she feels lonely and neglected by her family so she goes to her favourite place.



The aesthetic of the book initially drew me in. The illustrations are gorgeous, utilising a soft palette and quiet tones that give off a calm yet melancholic feel upon reading. However, as the narrative progress, the colours slowly change from the greys to more vibrant colours as of mirroring the young girl’s feelings and mindset.



Overall, this was a cute read. However, my only concern is that the young girl runs away and goes unnoticed by her family. I’m hesitant of how the book almost normalises running away to children and the repercussions of that, therefore, I would highly encourage parents or an older individual reading this book with a younger audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers (North South Books) for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on my blog closer to the publication date.

What a sweet book! I loved the artistry of the imagery and the way this book shows that sometimes our feelings aren't always a reflection of reality.

This is a jem of a little book, very melancholic, but just the right amount to get children dreaming. This is the kind of formative book, I think, that can brew the soul of a poet in the making. Children love nature, and with the busy world we parents are trying to navigate in and where we sometimes get lost, they do feel lonely, no matter how much we try to give. This was like a small children’s version of “Jane the Fox and Me” addressing the issue of loneliness and confidence found in nature encounters.

“Meet Me By the Sea” is a beautifully illustrated and written children’s picture book. Although the main character’s relationship with the outdoors is relatable for most children and families, the fact that she left home overnight is a bit frightening to imagine. Parents and caregivers will need to find teaching moments as they read, but will find beauty in the book regardless.

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of this book is really cute and the illustrations are beautiful. My issue with it is that it almost tells kids that if you’re not getting attention from your parents or caretakers, that’s it’s ok to pack up a bag and take off somewhere because they’ll just meet you there later. It just makes me a little wary of the message behind the story, but I do love telling kids that favorite places and favorite people can cheer you up.

Meet Me By the Sea by Taital Levi is a quiet, warm picture book about a young girl who feels she’s being ignored by her family (“sometimes I feel invisible to the world”) and goes out to spend the night in the woods on her way to her favorite seaside spot. She’s joined, unexpectedly, by a woodland animal, and then at the end her parents, well aware of her feelings and her favorite spot, join her by the sea.

The illustrations are softly inviting and nicely colored. The opening palette is a nice touch in that it’s full of blacks and greys with some scattered color—a nice visual mirror to the girl’s feelings. There’s also a drawing that hints at events to come. The colors shift to bright greens and white as she heads out, then gradually they turn darker and greyer as night nears. Night is dark and the girl has a sense of how small she is in the world, nicely mirrored again by the visuals, which show her a small oval in a large forest. But then morning comes bright and colorful again, and thanks to a morning surprise the girl realizes that maybe she’s not so invisible.

As noted, it’s quiet and warm. There isn’t a lot here textually, and honestly, I would have preferred a bit more, especially at the start, a bit more on some attempts to feel not so invisible. But the strength here are the illustrations, which are lovely and inviting, and the story will make a nice little read aloud.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Meet me by the sea is a captivating story for children about a little girl who feels that she is being overlooked and neglected by her parents who are always busy doing other things. She runs away and heads towards her favourite place. She makes a new friend (a fox) who makes her feel less invisible in the world. Her parents know her so well they know where she will have gone and find her there. She realises she loves her parents very much even for their faults and they love her just as much too.

The artwork in this book is beautiful and drew me in straight away. This is the second of Taltal Levis books I have read and I adored it just as much as the first.

Lovely, cozy illustrations with a gentle message about love and feeling invisible.

My one reservation is that the child in the story runs away and spends the night in the woods by themselves after feeling unnoticed by her parents. But I think all kids feel like running away sometimes, and this book can help explore those feelings in a safe way. It is also clear in the story that the child leaves a note for her parents telling them where she is going, and that this is a familiar journey that the child has made (with her parents) many times before.

This was a cute and quirky read. The story was a little odd and did not have much of a narrative, but the beautiful illustrations more than made up for it.

A cute illustration and it showed the brave of a little girl to discover a great surprise. Read it in one sitting .

It’s a comforting read, for both children and adults. I really liked the title and the cover, there was a sense of calmness about them, but the colours made me think that there is more to it than your usual children’s story.
A little girl goes to spend time in her favourite place, feeling neglected by her family. Feeling invisible, like the girl does, is something we all experience at any stage of our lives. But it is important to know that there is always someone out there, like the fox in the story, who will inevitably find us and make us forget all those times when we felt unseen.

A story of a little girl who feels ignored by her family so she goes and spends the night alone in the woods. Next morning her family come to find her.

Very simple text which means that there really isn’t very much to the story.

As an adult, this book is comforting and heartwarming.
But from kids point of view, I am not so sure, as this book kind of showing the girl to wonder alone in the woods and stay over until the parents found them. I guess this book have to be read together with the parents and read it with precaution. Other than that, I think it is a lovely book with a sweet story about family, about being okay to not feel okay, about friendship that you met along the journey of life :)

The aesthetic of the book grabbed me right away, and the story was cute. The only thing giving me pause is that I didn't right away get that the adults from the beginning were the same adults who met her by the sea. Maybe I was just overthinking it... I'll have to read it to my kids and see if they get it right away. Either way, I enjoyed the story and it had a very sweet middle and end. The illustrations were beautiful, too.

Loved this. Went camping with a friend a month ago and these reflective thoughts struck emotions I haven’t visited since.

This is a sweet picture book about a little girl who visits her favorite place in nature when her parents are caught up doing other things. The illustrations were really cute, as was the idea of going to your own happy place when you need to cheer up! The only thing that came up for us when reading was why the little girl went off on her own without her parents, and how that was a little scary. Sweet message at the end about being with her family, though--her favorite people in her favorite place!

A curious, wandering, open tale of a child who, finding their parents too busy, ventures to their favorite spot alone.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful. I had fun finding all the animals with my little one.

My one concern would be sending a message that it’s okay to grab a sleeping bag and go camp out alone until your parents come find you?

I certainly get and appreciate the themes of family love, having a happy place, and enjoying nature, but I think the concept of just leaving home is a bit problematic.