This is a book of few words, but gorgeous, eye-popping illustrations, and FEELINGS. The beautiful artwork (oil pastels? chalk?), is the real star here, but the emotions conjured by the single words - caring, comforting, cherishing - are enough to bring tears to any parent's eye.

I'm honestly not sure how children will respond to this book, but I would use it as an inspiration for art projects. Have your little ones try using crayons on dark construction paper, then marvel at the results.

And don't forget to hug them for their efforts. They'll be gone before you know it.

Creative, telling the whole story of motherhood through single verbs and illustrated vignettes. I appreciated the illustrated details within the words that reinforced the idea, but overall the illustrations were not to my taste.

This was an unexpected find for me. Using a vibrant chalk style on top of a black background the author/illustrator uses simple art to show us the meanings of the one word text on each corresponding page. The story follows a mommy bird raising her young and the many emotions and thoughts that go with raising our children. I shared this with my 4 year old and 18 months old and they love it. The simplicity appeals to them and they love pointing out the details in the pictures and the feelings that they may be feeling. This is a book we will read over and over again. I received this as an ebook ARC but have to add it to my home collection because we loved it so much. Great gift book for all families.

In 12 words, Mies van Hout captures the deepest sentiments of parenthood leaving us teary-eyed and grateful for the most precious gifts in our lives. With vibrant chalk illustration against a stark black background, van Hout cleverly takes a childhood sidewalk pastime and transforms it into visible representations of what parents treasure most in their hearts. Minimal content but maximum impact. Bravo. This book is a sensation.

The first thing about this book is the beautiful images, bright bold colors against a black background. There is not really a story, but yet there is a story of parenting and watching our baby birds leave the nest. Not sure that this is enough for young children. It wouldn't be great for early readers as there aren't many words in the book, a quick read unless you want to discuss the story more in depth. The images are super eye catching, but probably not one that I would purchase as it lacks much content for children to listen or read. Thanks Netgalley and Pajama Press for the opportunity to read, or to just look at this beautiful book.

Surprise is a beautiful children's book that gives little ones the opportunity to associate certain words with art. The images of each of the birds are striking and easy to get lost in, to find images within the main image. This book also tells the story of a bird's journey into parenthood and that's such a fun theme to read about with kids. Perfect for toddlers! This would be a wonderful baby shower gift as well.

The book was beautifully written. The author made careful word choices that were very impactful. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it.

Lovely chalk drawings of birds—mommies with their chicks. This is mainly a picture book—bright and vivid pictures on black backgrounds. Great pictures that celebrate birds and family.

These illustrations are truly stunning! And this book manages to tell a sweet story with few words and yet so much emotion.

I will be buying this one as it is really a beautiful book, but the illustrations are dynamic enough I could see them appealing to kids.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork in this was very simple and the text was just one word per page. The art matched the word. I think this was a beautiful book, but I'm not sure how much children would appreciate it.

Surprise is a book about a mother bird watching her babies grow. The illustrations were very unique and eye-catching. This was a picture book that seemed more geared towards parents than children, although both would enjoy. The prose in the book was sparse, but the illustrations made up for it in my opinion.

Thanks to Net Galley, Mies van Hout, and Pajama Press for the chance to review this advanced copy!