PICTURE BOOKS
THE SHADOW & THE GHOST
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Shinbi is not a particularly ghosty ghost. At night she likes making tiny bouquets of things, and gazing at the far away stars. Haunting? Not so much. Even if that’s what the other ghosts like. In the daytime, in a meadow, sits a single rock, casting a single shadow, named Greem. He’d really like someone to talk to. But who? He writes one word on his lonely rock: “Hi” and hopes someone will see it.
Sure enough, in the darkness of night, Shinbi finds the note! But who could have written it? In a profound exploration of how friendship can break through barriers of time and circumstance, Cat Min introduces us to two unforgettable characters we’d all love to know.
★ “Will leave viewers in awe. May the stars align for readers to share this heartwarming book with their friends no matter how far apart." —BCCB (starred)
“Dazzling.” —Horn Book
“A work of breathless connection.” —PW
“Stunning! A clever and sweet story of finding a friend with gorgeous, whimsical illustrations.” —Tildy Lutts, Belmont Books
“A heartwarming tale.” —BookPage
THE LITTLE TOYMAKER
Publication Date: November 1st, 2022
We all know about the guy in the red suit at the North Pole. But what if the world's toymaker was a little boy?
From the author and illustrator of Shy Willow comes the adorable Little Toymaker, who makes wonderful toys. not for children, but for their grandparents and other older folk. (People often forget that they, too, like toys!) But it isn't always easy.
One morning, an old woman brings the little Toymaker a candy tin she played with as a girl.
The little Toymaker takes the tin and TA-DA! comes back with a sparkling new toy for the old lady. But it seems that what she truly wants was lost a long time ago. And it will take all the Toymaker's skill, magic, and empathy to bring it back for her.
“It is particularly rewarding to see a difficult narrative carried off as though it were simplicity itself. Talk about aiming at and then hitting the mark. So genuine and heartwarming.”
—Kenny Brechner (owner of DDG Booksellers in Farmington, Maine)
Read the full PW shelf talker piece here: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=33912
SHY WILLOW
Publication Date: February 16th 2021
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.
Accepted in the Society of Illustrator’s 41st Annual Original Art Show 2021
Booklist Starred Review: https://www.booklistonline.com/Shy-Willow-Cat-Min/pid=9742035
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/books/review/vincent-x-kirsch-from-archie-to-zack.html