Out of Nowhere

By Author / Illustrator

Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

Genre

Picture Books

Age range(s)

Publisher

Nosy Crow Ltd

ISBN

9781788008389

Format

Hardback

Published

14-01-2021

Synopsis

A feel-good picture book about friendship and change, from the bestselling author of The Suitcase, translated into over 20 languages.Beetle and Caterpillar are best friends. Every day, they sit together on a big rock, sharing a picnic and looking out over the forest. But one day, Caterpillar goes missing and, try as he might, Beetle cannot find her. Just as he is about to give up hope, a very friendly (and rather familiar) butterfly appears out of nowhere. Can it be his friend? She might look different but she is still just the same and they are together again, at last. A heartwarming story from bestselling author, Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, shortlisted for Oscar's Prize 2020 and The Kate Greenaway Award 2020.

Reviews

Out of Nowhere is a beautiful tale of friendship and change. Beetle meets a friend who comes out of nowhere one day, a caterpillar. They become firm friends and share picnics and watch the sun go down and the moon rise. However, one day his friend goes missing and Beetle cannot find her anywhere! He searches everywhere before packing his bags to go and search for her. Eventually, just as he's about to return, he is startled by a beautiful butterfly! He stares and stares until he realises he knows that face - but from where?

I loved that the illustrations were in black and white and the friend and any key feature was in red. The simplicity of the images worked so well with the story.

This book is a brilliant take on changing friendships, moving and even fear. I would also use this book within science lessons for younger children to show the life cycle of a caterpillar to butterfly or to look at the similarities and differences between animals. This is a picture book I am excited to use with my class and share going forward!

Pages / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Lauren Maidman, teacher