Tiny Worlds
A Story About Appreciating the Small Things
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jan 13, 2026
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- $12.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Grandma’s house isn’t that big, but there’s always enough room for a tiny world. . . . An introverted child finds grandness in the small things around him in this heartfelt intergenerational story. When a young boy visits his grandmother’s house, he doesn’t just see scraps of ribbon lying around, mushrooms clustered under a log in the forest, or shells hiding along the beach. He sees tiny worlds where pie tins become playgrounds, ants become farmers, and tide pools teem with life waiting to be explored. Tiny worlds are full of whimsy and imagination, but they have one problem: He seems to be the only one who sees them. While at first Grandma keeps trying to draw him out, to a busy park or the beach or the zoo, eventually she realizes that her grandson’s tiny worlds are big enough for her to meet him there. In her authorial debut, Brittany Cicchese offers a touching story and warm illustrations that celebrate the connection between a child and grandparent and encourage readers to appreciate the little things in life—and the sensitive souls who lead us to them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cicchese explores perspective-taking and presence in this quiet tale about noticing a landscape's "small things." First-person descriptions establish the protagonist as a dreamy child drawn to pint-size pleasures—including a doll-house-like "Tiny Town" they construct from homemade and repurposed items. The speaker's grandmother, by contrast, gravitates to more stimulating and invigorating activities. When the pale-skinned duo head to the playground, the child finds it "too loud," preferring to "listen to the soft plop of dewdrops" at a nearby pond. The pattern continues until the child opens up about the "tiny worlds" they notice: "I feel like I'm the only one who sees them." The youth's honesty both prompts a deeper connection between the pair and drives home the value of being present in the world and with others. Ages 3–7.