Shy Willow by Cat Min is about a timid rabbit called Willow who lives in an abandoned mailbox. She hates being outside. After all, a rabbit can be afraid of flying soccer balls, noisy children, and cars. One hilarious picture shows part of her dislike for the busy world: she has a notebook she draws in—her favorite activity—and a car is parked right on top of her book, so she struggles to pull it out from under the tire.
An envelope falls into Willow’s box, and she opens it. It’s a letter to the moon from a boy called Theo, asking the moon to shine the brightest for his mom’s birthday. The letter must be delivered to the moon, though Willow feels scared to do it. However, she knows Theo and his mom would be disappointed if the moon doesn’t shine bright, so she musters her courage and starts her journey. The problem is how to get to the moon. She tries different ways—jumping, climbing a mountain, hopping onto a bird to fly to it—but all fail. She sits down among the trees, getting comfortable as it reminds her of home, and she looks at her sketches, including a picture of her with a balloon. Inspired, she rips out the pages of her book, tapes them together, and forms a balloon out of them. This is an original and creative idea, though the author never said where she got the helium.
Willow flies to the sleeping moon, then wakes her up and reads the letter to her. The moon praises Willow for her bravery, and they head for Theo’s house where the moon shines for him and his mom. The book shows how Willow’s proud as it says, “The warmth of the moonlight spread through Willow’s chest. And it remained there forever.”
In the back of the book, it shows Willow’s sketches, including one of an origami boat with the caption, “Theo taught me how to make origami.” This hints that Willow has made friends with Theo. Now, does this book teach that overcoming shyness means giving up your introverted personality? No! One of the last illustrations features Theo reading a book at one side of Willow’s mailbox while Willow looks at her book on the other side. This demonstrates that you can be an introvert and still care for others.
It is an adorable story that shows a character caring for someone enough to get out of her comfort zone. Willow reminds me of Piglet from Winnie the Pooh: nervous, yet goodhearted. The stars and the pastel colors add beauty to the illustrations, and the moon looks loveable with her eyelashes and rosy cheeks. One enchanting illustration has Willow riding a bird; the bird wears a crown on her head, and her wings stream behind her like a comet, the stars sparkling around her. School Library Journal recommends this for kids in grades Preschool through Kindergarten, and I think this will be a lovely story to add to your bedtime collection.
Shy Willow
Willow is shy. VERY shy.
Her home is in an abandoned mailbox, and she’d rather stay put. Outside kids scream and soccer balls collide, trees look like monsters, and rain is noisy in a scary kind of way. It’s much nicer to stay inside, drawing. But then a young boy drops a letter in Willow’s mailbox: it’s a note to the moon asking for a special favor. Willow knows that if she doesn’t brave the world outside, the letter will never be delivered, and the boy will be heartbroken. Should she try? Can she?
Cat Min delivers a breathtakingly illustrated story about shyness, the power of empathy, and what it means to make a friend.
Sounds like such an interesting story!
And the illustrations are gorgeous, too.
I love the title.