Pepper and Me

Uniquely moving. 

Employing warm powers of observation and expressive mixed-media spreads in an elegant palette of fuchsia, olive, and chestnut brown, Alemagna (You Can't Kill Snow White) chronicles the rich relationship that develops between a child and the scab that forms on their leg after a tumble on some cobblestones. The fall has already happened at story's start ("It burned a lot, lot, lot!"), and though the child's father says that the scab will be beautiful, instead, "it looked like a big hamburger." The child's mother says that the scab will go away in a few days, but it lingers. It's the ugliest scab in the world, the child worries, much worse than those that other people have. The scab even gets a name (Pepper, after "the puppy I never managed to get"), and a spirited conversation ensues: "You couldn't have called me Crystal or Jazzy? A super nice cute name?" Then, one morning, Pepper falls away, "tucked into the folds of my sheets." It's easy for readers to see their own concerns reflected in the narrator's--and to breathe a sigh of relief when the ordeal is over--in this slice-of-life portrait of life's small comings and goings. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

A January/February 2024 Kids' Indie Next List pick

Alemagna deftly captures feelings of loss over something inconsequential to adults but of outsized importance to a child....Uniquely moving. —Kirkus Reviews

★"A relatable, very unique story of acceptance, unexpected friendship, and letting go with stunning, eye-catching artwork." —Imagination Soup 

Imaginative...the kind of picture book that seems straight out of a kids' imagination." — Book Riot

From the mind of internationally acclaimed author/illustrator Beatrice Alemagna comes the next essential duo in children's literature: a child and their scab....unforgettable. —Kirkus Reviews

Pepper and Me deftly taps into the wondrous and curious mind of a child—a scrape-turned-surly-scab-come-to-life!—alongside the surprising, inventive, and perfectly askew drawings I've come to expect in a new Beatrice Alemagna book. I am a huge fan—of Pepper and Ms. Alemagna." —Matthew Cordell, Caldecott Medalist for Wolf in the Snow

This beautifully illustrated story made me want to befriend all the bruises, scars and scabs that my inner child carries with her. I feel like hugging this book! —Elise Gravel, creator of the Disgusting Critters and Olga series

The story of a girl and her relationship with her scab. The book was magically odd and the kids had so much to say about. I LOVED IT! —Colby Sharp, educator