Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This is probably the first picture book I've ever seen that I would describe as dystopian. It's certainly inventive. And the art is well designed. The story is straightforward and the art makes great use of color and silhouette.

Bix is living an Orwelian nightmare - the Eyes are always watching! They even pick the books she will read on her screen. Then one day, a small friend helps her find a wonderful utopian city under her city . . . a marvelous, mysterious place where stories are printed on real paper.

Yaccarino's retro-funky artwork is perfect for illustrating this fun yet cautionary tale. Don't ever let others decide what you can or can't read!

This is a treasure for book lovers of all ages!

This is a Children's book that I read to my twin boys. I found this book hard to follow in the beginning, but that may have to be with the fact I do not read sci-fi books, and I did not know this was a Children's Sci-Fi book. I enjoyed the ending of this book. My kids found parts of this book funny, but I think they were lost during parts of this book too. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Mineditionus) or author (Dan Yaccarino) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

A spooky sci-fi/dystopia story that early readers will love! I've never seen anything quite like this for this age group and I think it will be really popular in libraries.

A science fiction/dystopian book for young readers is such a great idea! I really enjoyed reading this book quite a lot, and I will be picking up a copy of it for my preschool books collection. There are so many great details within this book, like the dolls of Alice, Dorothy, Madeline, and Pippi-Longstocking within the library.

I love how the style within the book felt like a comic book with the illustrations, text bubbles, and panels. Everything was so beautiful to look at, along with the wonderful story.

*Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. *

This is an adorable title that I would recommend to anyone! Kids will be drawn in by the story and adults will love its message. A definite recommend.

Bix lives on Earth far into the future in a place where the humans sleep in glass-domed pods and are carried to where they need to go by large robot “Eyes”. The Eyes brush the humans teeth and teach the humans by choosing the books the humans read. Bix doesn’t like this and wants the freedom to choose for herself what she reads and now she plays.

The Eyes are always watching and one day Bix gets tired of them watching and escapes the Eyes and follows and animal that she’s never seen before (a rat) down a hole that uncovers a new place - the former city that has paper books and artifacts of the previous life before the Eyes. Bix lives and learns down in the underground city until she is ready to return with new ideas and thoughts which are a threat to the Eyes.

This was a very profound book for a picture book. I’ve not read anything quite like this in this format - I’m an Elementary School Librarian so I’ve read a lot of picture books. I had to read this twice to get my thoughts in order. The ultimate overthrow of the Eyes and the push to show the benefits on promoting the Freedom to Read have a lot of room for discussion. I think this particular book will be an absolute winner with some of my intermediate classes as there’s so much to unpack here. This is on the top of my list of books to order for my library when we return to school in September.

Having said that I’m not sure how young I would recommend this for. The ideas as I said are complex so I would think ages 8+ though I plan on using this with kids as old as grade 7.

The artwork is awesome and I love it- they’re very retro in terms of colouring and style and I love a unique storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book for review. Opinions are my own.

This is a strangely light hearted that tackles serious topics of surveillance and independent thought. The illustrations are colorful and interesting. A great book for kids and adults.

A futuristic story about a world without books. That is until they discover the city under the city and can renew their love of reading and the benefits that this brings to society.

Great illustrations and a children's book with a difference.

This book is fabulous. It's one of those picture books that can be enjoyed by both child and parent at different levels. As a parent it made me think of the future and what kind of world we could actually evolve in to.. It also reminded me of the importance of always allowing our children self-determinism. Kids will enjoy identifying with the spunky main character as well as the delightful illustrations. I would highly recommend this for any school or home library.

A short and pleasant read about a dystopian world and what the power of books can do in it.

Thank you so much for the digital advanced reader's copy.

A dystopian book for young readers? Yes please.
Bix and her family lives in a city where there are eyes helping (and controlling) the citizens.
The only one who questions this reality is Bix. She wants to do things herself.
All the citizens are walking around looking in small screens and do not communicate much with each other.
Bix doesn't like reading through the screens but when she finds out there is a library full of physical books in the city under the city she suddenly changes her mind and enjoys reading.

I like the illustrations which feels influenced by comic books with boxes and speech bubbles.
The story itself is not brand new but it feels new in its format and intended audience.

A short but poignant tale that speaks about the importance of books, how they educate and encourage minds and free thinking. It warns against reliance on technology. That all sounds very heavy but actually it is a fun little book. The children really appreciated the little details in the illustrations.

Bix lives in a futuristic world with robots who do everything for people, but people never really connect with each other.

Bix wants to play and explore and ends up finding a city under her world full of books and art that open a whole new world.

The eyes (robots) are not pleased and try to squash this exploration. Can Bix, her family and her community fight back?

The art in this book is amazing! Very Wall-e/Bowler Hat from Meet the Robinsons.

Bix is a little girl who lives in a place where large mechanical eyes watch everyone and do almost everything, like get people out of bed and brush their teeth. Bix's family is fine with how things are, but she is very unhappy. She wants to do things by herself, with no one watching.

She sees a little creature go through a hole in the wall, then follows it and falls to a city below her own! She learns from paper books, and eats food from cans, and spends time with Rat (the clever animal).

When she goes home, Bix has to teach everyone what she has learned (the eyes took a hostage)! Finally, everyone has to decide whether they want to let the eyes continue to make all choices for them, or do things themselves.

I enjoy the time Bix spends learning in the city below (possibly a place like New York City) and exploring, but we know she has to go home and share what she found. The story is predictable, but cute, and teaches some good personal and social lessons, plus the subtle "Vote" signs everywhere. The author could have taken a lot longer to tell the story, and I appreciate the brevity.

3.7/5 Stars

Thanks to Astra Publishing House and mineditionUS, and NetGalley for the preview of this ebook pdf; the review is voluntary.

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Oh my goodness this book was SUCH a delight omg. All of the illustrations were so charming and full of little details I'm still looking closely at. The use of the Eyes was so incredibly effective, and I loved the exploration of the city under the city. I already can't wait to gift this book to several friends with kids as well as to make sure my library adds it to the collection. I really loved this book and look forward to sharing it with others when it comes out!

This would make for a great addtion to any library, be it home or classroom. So many interesting conversations could come up after reading. It tells a story , but leaves so much room for the child's imagination to run wild. Loved this book

Dan Yaccarino’s art is lovely, as always. The colorful design and fun story will be inviting for young readers and a welcome addition to classroom libraries.

This book is futuristic and realistic. If we don’t change some of our habits we will love like this in no time. I love having books to hope us see how our lives could be Hopefully it inspires us to be more present.