Lee's *The Quiet One* tells the heartwarming story of Milly, a bright but shy girl who dreads the upcoming Show and Tell Day. As she explores her shed, where she creates with discarded items, Milly builds a robot and forms an unexpected friendship. This gentle picture book is a beautiful exploration of finding your voice through passion, and the courage to speak with the support of a friend. The soft watercolor and pencil illustrations enhance the story, and I particularly appreciate how the illustrator includes characters of diverse backgrounds. *The Quiet One* is an essential addition to any library, offering a powerful lesson in building confidence.

Oh my goodness the illustrations in this book are wonderful!

The book is well written and it has a lovely flow to the story and best of all some fantastic characters that children can really relate too. My daughter is similar in personality to the main character, Milly. She does want to try a lot of things, but she does get held back at times by her confidence and often hides behind me in social situations and says that she is shy.

She read this book to me and really enjoyed it and it was lovely to see her smile as she could associate with Milly. My daughter has lots of friends at school but still doesn't like show and tell, in fact she was due to do it two weeks ago and refused to take part, so hopefully this book will encourage her more. She is a brilliant reader out loud and at home so with this book, and hopefully encouragement from her Teacher, I am hoping she will get a bit more confidence as she isn't alone in her feelings.

It was a complete pleasure to read and I can see the book being one that becomes a firm favourite and a welcome addition to any bookcase and should be a must for school libraries and will hopefully help to encourage confidence.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

This is a beautiful picture book about finding your voice through the things you are passionate about, and gaining courage to speak with the help of a friend. The book has lovely illustrations - with a beautiful colour palette. I also appreciated that the kids in the classroom represented a good variety of race, religion, etc., as this is something I often miss in older children's books.

Synopsis: Milly is a smart but quiet/shy child. When it's nearly time for Show and Tell at school, she is anxious. She hides in her secret place - the garage - where she tinkers with old things and builds a friendly robot. The robot is a good listener and with its encouragement, Milly is not so afraid of Show and Tell anymore, especially if she gets to talk about her passion.

Quiet doesn’t have to mean silent when it comes to sharing what you’re passionate about.

Darling illustrations detail Milly’s journey with her rebuilt robot friend, Arnold. Her passion for building and creating allow her to move beyond her fear of speaking. When we share what we care about with others, we grow bigger and bolder than we’d ever imagine.

Thanks to @NetGalley for sharing this DRC with @leecmeyerbooks for an honest review.

Illustrator and author Yiting Lee tells a touching story about being shy and friendship. Milly usually gets lost in class. While the others play, talk and romp around, Milly buries her head in a book. When “Show and Tell” is coming up, her fears and worries are huge - how will it work? Fortunately, Milly still has her secret hiding place - a shed with all sorts of things that people have discarded. A place to think, invent and build. All to herself.
And then suddenly there's a broken vacuum/mopping robot.
Milly cleaned the robot in a few simple steps, added a few new parts and restarted it. And lo and behold: it talks!
And because Arnold is a robot and not a human, Milly suddenly finds it easy to speak.

Together they build a real adventure playground in the shed. On the day of the “Show and Tell”, Arnold stands by Milly's side.

“Show and Tell hadn't been so terrible after all. And Milly was happy the she had been heard.”

The illustrations are full of childlike fantasy. Yiting Lee uses watercolors and colored pencils and digital post-processing of the images.
Technique: Watercolor, colored pencils and digital post-processing

The quiet one
Text and illustration: Yiting Lee
Publisher: Eerdmans, 2025
👛 Digital reading copy via NetGalley.com

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Illustratorin und Autorin Yiting Lee erzählt eine rührende Geschichte über das schüchtern sein und Freundschaft. Im Klassenverband geht Milly meist unter. Während die anderen spielen, sich unterhalten und toben, steckt Milly ihren Kopf in ein Buch. Als dann „Show and Tell“ bevorsteht sind Angst und Sorge riesengroß - wie soll das klappen? Glücklicherweise hat Milly noch ihr geheimes Versteck - ein Schuppen mit allerlei Dingen, die Menschen aussortiert haben. Ein Ort zum Nachdenken, Erfinden und Bauen. Ganz für sich.
Und dann ist da plötzlich ein kaputter Saug/Wischroboter.
Mit wenigen Handgriffen hat Milly den Roboter gereinigt, ein paar neue Teile hinzugefügt und neu gestartet. Und siehe da: Er spricht!
Und weil Arnold ein Roboter und kein Mensch ist fällt es Milly plötzlich nicht schwer zu sprechen.

Gemeinsam bauen sie aus der einen richtigen Abenteuerspielplatz beim Schuppen. Als der Tag des „Show and Tells“ ist steht Arnold Milly zur Seite.

“Show and Tell hadn’t been so terrible after all. And Milly was happy the she had been heard.”

Die Illustrationen sind voll kindlicher Fantasie. Yiting Lee verwendet Wasserfarben und Buntstifte und digitale Nachbearbeitung der Bilder.

The quiet one
Text und Illustration: Yiting Lee
Verlag: Eerdmans, 2025
👛 digitales Leseexemplar via NetGalley.com

The style of the illustrations was soft and there were no harsh lines which mirrored the tone of the story as well as the main character who was soft spoken. Great book for kids who have social anxiety and are quiet by nature.

The Quiet One is a lovely picture book that follows Milly, a shy girl who is anxious about an upcoming show and tell at school. At home in her "secret place" she likes to make and fix things, including a broken cleaning robot. With some help he turns on and introduces himself as Arnold. The two become fast friends as Arnold inadvertently helps Milly overcome some of her anxiety. This book has cute illustrations and a great message that will help any child empathize with quiet kids.
Thanks to Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is about the quiet one- Milly, finding her way to express herself, with a little bit of help from a robot friend she "made" It's a good read for children who are shy or slow to respond, they have things to say, just they are finding their way to say it out.

5 stars from my 6 year old. Milly is introverted or possibly neurodivergent and is afraid to go to show and tell. She finds a robot and gains confidence in sharing her creation with her class.

Milly is a shy but intelligent child who's stressed about her school's upcoming show and tell day. She doesn't talk much, and can't quite figure out why. But when she comes across a broken cleaning robot, she patches him up only to find that talking with him comes easily. Can Milly find a way to speak that freely with others?

This is a sweet, heartfelt story with equally sweet, nostalgic illustrations to match. Perfect for any kiddo who might be a bit shy or unsure of how to speak up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Quiet One starts of quietly, with a little note by the author Lee writing about how she herself was the quiet one in class and has used her own personal experience to write a touching story about a quiet little girl finding her voice in her class through her passion and friend.

Milly is the quiet one in her class and often spends her free time hiding in the garage on school grounds. There, amidst the discarded items and sports equipments, Milly finds joy in her own little world. Using her skills, Milly re-uses a cycle wheel to create a mini ferris wheel, a train of roller skates, chugging away on the railway tracks.
Milly’s inner world is rich with emotion and creation, powered by her curiosity to build. But, her outer world, when she has to speak aloud in front her peers, Milly struggles — Show & Tell being her worst nightmare.

That is until a chance discovery of a broken robot sparks of her curiosity. She rebuilds him, and starts of on a journey of self-discovery, where with the help of her robotic friend Arnold, Milly finally develops the courage for her voice to be heard.

The pivotal scene is illustrated so beautifully by Lee, it is a powerful image on its own, and for me the crucial emotional junction of this book.

Delicately written, softly illustrated with so much love and care to the items, even in the background, The Quiet One has been treated with much care and love by Lee.

The book is testament to the notion that with the help of a friend, a supporter, one can find one’s voice.

I would recommend this book to everyone, more to the extroverts, so they too can be that friend to help an introvert find their voice.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Cute story about battling fear and finding your voice! I really liked how this book was structured. There was a healthy amount of ups and downs within the plot that gave the overall story a lot of emotion and volume. Additionally, there was a perfect amount of character development. It makes for a more personal reading experience because the reader gets to see firsthand how Milly goes from a quiet introvert to someone who is unafraid and passionate. Even further, Milly sets an example for young readers to both find their voice and discover their passions. This is so important for kids to see, as it gets them to explore and go for things. It makes me very happy to see how the author achieved this goal of inspiring readers. Lastly, it was heartwarming how all of Milly's classmates were so accepting of Milly's passions once she spoke up. This is a good example of how the author packed this book with emotion, which is awesome and impressive.
Bravo!

A heartwarming and empowering story for shy or introverted children, particularly those interested in STEM and engineering. Milly is the quiet kid in her class, often struggling to find the words to speak up. But outside of school, she has a natural curiosity for building things and creates a robot. Milly finds it easier to express herself to the robot, and through this bond, she discovers she has a lot to say. Milly brings her robot to show-and-tell, and with the robot by her side, she gains the confidence to speak in front of her class. She passionately shares her love for building and engineering, showing the power of finding a voice, even for those who are typically quiet.

The Quiet One celebrates not only the importance of self-expression but also girls in STEM, creativity, and the courage it takes to overcome personal challenges. This book is a wonderful read for young readers, particularly those who may relate to Milly's journey of finding their own voice and confidence.

The Quiet One is a story about a girl who gets very nervous talking in front of others. Show and Tell is the worst of it! She is a tinkerer and finds something that maybe she isn't so nervous to talk about. The story shows how our interests can help us to be more outgoing. It is a sweet book that would be great for early readers.

Thanks to Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company for the e-arc.
My kids and I read this on the iPad so we could see the super cute drawings. They loved that this book had a robot in it as they are big on robots and transformers.
As a shy person myself I enjoyed the story and that once the girl figured out what she was passionate about she was able to open up.
Would definitely recommend this children’s book.

Millie is quiet and afraid of show and tell. While in her secret place, she finds parts and creates a robot. To her surprise, the robot speaks to her and says he will help her through show and tell. The more the other students are interested in Arnold, her robot, the more confidence she gains to share about her creation on her own.

This would be a fun book in the classroom where kids are working in gaining the confidence to speak in front of others.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review a copy of this book.

Adorable. This book will hit home for anyone who is socially awkward, neurodivergent or just shy! We have all known the fear of speaking in front of others at one point or another, and this book explores how focussing on what we love and with the help of a friend we can overcome those fears. I loved the illustration style and the way the text was sometimes type and other times full colour illustration. I especially loved the font for Arnold that really helped you imagine reading it in a robot voice (something parents could practice on an inevitable second reading!)

Free proof copy provided by Netgalley.

This story was so sweet! Milly’s quiet and shy nature is very relatable, and seeing her emboldened by her passion for tinkering was a lovely way her overcome her fear of her classroom’s show and tell. The artwork in this book is also stunning! My daughter and I both loved all of the playful colors!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the eARC! ❤️