3.5 stars rounded up. I absolutely love the premise of this book, and the art is adorable, but I found the writing a little awkward, especially reading aloud.

Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

I was initially drawn to this book as my name is also Antonia. Unfortunately, I can't say I enjoyed it any further than that though, As a whole the book has no real story. There isn't a definitive beginning, middle or end with no form of character development at all.

Visually the backgrounds of each page is lovely. They're well fleshed out with great details. The character design though is a very different case. The main character has a hard to ignore shaped head and is drawn in a completely different style to the way in which his parent's are drawn. Perspective, scale and ratio were also quite questionable and hard to ignore.

A shame overall and I've been left quite confused by how this book has been able to get to publication stage with all the above.

Thank you to NetGalley and Whimspire Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I enlisted my trusty children book readers to help, ages 4 and 8, and they confirmed that my adult perspective was sound - Sincerely, Antonia is a hit with kids. Told from the perspective of an ant who has written a letter to a kid thanking him for his hospitality, the illustrations make this short and sweet read especially appealing, and the concept is hilarious. I had fun asking them to find the ants on the pages (easier for them with young eyes), and we all learned just a little bit about these invasive little creatures. Bonus for any adults looking to instil some lessons to kids - they now understand why we only eat at the table (though the 8 year old seems a little too enamored by the thought of wooing his own Antonia to the house…). If you’re not sure what will go over well with children, this is cute and well done, geared more to the much younger set.

This is a very cute story told from the point of view of an ant. It would be a great way to teach point of view in grade 3 or higher. The details in the art work are well done also from the ant's perspective. I enjoyed this story and think elementary students will too! A great addition to public, school and personal libraries.

Thank you Net Galley, Courtney Cino and Whimspire Books for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions shared are my own.
This title is expected to be released June 3, 2025 just in time for summer picnic season.

Very cute story written from the point of view of an ant. I love the illustrations. The book includes fun ant facts at the end. This would be great for grades preK-6.