Maya went into her box when a classmate teased her, and again when another hurt her feelings.
Now she's there most of the time. It's safe and quiet and best of all it can be anything she wants it to be. She brings it on bike rides and to school, and while kids used to notice it, now they barely see her at all. But Maya can't help but wonder if there might be something she's missing. Yes, it's noisy and scary out there, but it's also exciting and fun. Finally, Maya bravely decides to step out into the sunshine and find her place in the world-outside her box.
Key Selling Points
• Maya retreats into her box when she's teased by classmates, because inside, she can be herself. But as time passes, she realizes that there's a lot she's missing and bravely steps back outside to embrace the world.
• This story gets across the vulnerability of being different or left out, while highlighting the resilience of the main character and her way of coping, in a warm, relatable and comforting way.
• The central metaphor of the box would provide a great springboard for discussion of figurative language and how sometimes metaphors can express feelings and situations that are harder to explain directly.
• Brady Sato's bright and expressive illustrations bring out both the beauty of Maya's inner world and then, when she gets the courage to embrace the outside again, the vibrancy of the world around us.
• Alison Hughes has published 20 books for children and young adults and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards and CBC Nonfiction Prize.
In this sweet picture book, Maya retreats into a box when some kids tease her. Inside, it's safe and beautiful. But when she sees how much life she's missing out on outside her box, Maya realizes it's time to put the box aside and rejoin the world.
Alison Hughes is an award-winning author of many books for children and young adults, including The Silence Slips In, winner of the R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature and Hit the Ground Running, a nominee for the Governor General's Literary Award. Her books have been nominated eleven times for children's choice awards across Canada, and her short stories have appeared in anthologies and have been finalists for the CBC Nonfiction Prize and the Writers' Union of Canada Short Fiction Competition. She lives in Edmonton with her family.
Brady Sato is a Japanese Canadian illustrator who specializes in digital illustration. They developed an appreciation for visual storytelling from watching TV shows and reading manga as a child in Japan. Brady studied visual narrative at The Art Department (TAD) in Austin, Texas, with Pixar artist Kelsey Mann. They are the creator of the popular webcomic All That You Are and their first picture book, Kunoichi Bunny, was named a 2022 New York Public Library's Best Book for Kids. Brady lives in Canmore, Alberta. It's safer inside
