The Thing at 52
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Spark meaningful discussions about loneliness, friendship, community, and coping with loss with this enchantingly illustrated story about a girl who befriends a monster.
There’s a Thing on my street.
He lives at number 52.
I see him sitting in his front yard when I walk to school.
He was big and lumbering and a wore a tiny top hat perched on top of his rather large head. She didn’t think he had any friends, so she brought him a flower.
It wasn’t long before their friendship bloomed…the Thing was gentle and kind and the adventures they went on were the best she could ever imagine.
The girl soon discovered that there were many Things, living all over the place…which gave her an idea. She invited them all to a party, and the Things danced till midnight. Thing had never felt so happy.
But one day the Thing had to go and their adventures came to an end.
All Things have to go sometime…
In this poignant story, discover how small acts of kindness can grow into great friendships, and how the community you build from those friendships can provide comfort and companionship when you need it most.
Written by the beloved children’s author Ross Montgomery, and illustrated by the incredible Richard Johnson, The Thing at 52 offers a comfortable starting point for discussing difficult topics with children. The book’s magic will draw you back again and again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First-person storytelling by Montgomery describes the friendship that blossoms between a tan-skinned child narrator and a gray shaggy Thing in this melancholy story. Noticing that the neighborhood Thing is constantly alone, an empathic child goes over to offer a flower. The Thing—who lives with a single chair, newspaper rugs, and a fridge full of mustard—reciprocates with an invitation to come inside for a cup of gravy. Soon, the pair hang out every day after the child's school ("He'd help me with math while I fed him mustard"). On an outing to the beach, the duo spot another Thing in the air ("all Things have to go sometime," says the child's companion), and the youth is inspired to throw a party to connect the creatures. The event proves sustaining when the relationship comes abruptly to its conclusion—one of many unexpected aspects of this unusual story. Johnson's creatures are furry and huggable amid wispy, soft-edged artwork that partners readily with the text's wistful tone. The creators' worldbuilding teeters between the realistically familiar and the bizarre in this sensitive portrayal of an unlikely friendship. Ages 4–7.
