The Pink Umbrella - Amélie Callot - ★★.¼

AUTHOR: Amélie Callot

ILLUSTRATOR: Geneviève Godbout

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: January 2, 2018

RATING: 2.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book that probably holds more meaning to romance-loving adults. Cute story but too rambling in the first half. Fabulous illustrations. It is officially aimed at kids, but I don’t think children will like this one. 🤔

Plot Preview:

Adele runs a little café, offering it as a happy place not just for food but also for local small businesses to set up stalls. But she absolutely hates rain, so whenever it rains, she closes the café and stays inside under her covers feeling sad. Because she is such a good friend to everyone, someone decides to offer her kindness. One by one, they leave three items that will help Adele deal with the rain. All three objects are perfect for Adele in colour, style, and fit. But who is this mysterious friend trying to make sure that Adele enjoys a rainy day just as much as she loves the sunny ones?

This book was originally published in French in 2016 under the title ‘Rose à petits pois’. (Nothing about an umbrella in the French title or cover!) This English translation was published in 2018.

Well, well, well… who knew love stories could come in picture book form as well!? Technically, the words ‘love’ and ‘romance’ aren't mentioned in the content. In fact, the book just calls the duo ‘friends’. However, it is very evident from the final pages that the ‘friendship’ is far more than that. Moreover, though the identity of the mysterious donor isn't revealed outright (there’s only one hint in the illustrations, and that too on the last page), it is very easy to guess who it might be, given that there is only one other character who is named in the book. Then again, it isn’t supposed to be a suspense story, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am somewhat torn about my feelings for this book.

On one hand,

✔️ The idea of someone leaving gifts secretly without revealing their identity is fun.

✔️ The budding love story is ‘awwww’-inducing.

✔️ The illustrations are fabulous. I grabbed this for that adorable cover and the inside illustrations are just as stunning. They have this quaint, old-world charm, and the button eyes of the characters add to the cuteness.

On the other hand,

❌ The story takes a long while to get going. Most of the initial pages are just fillers. The main story could have been conveyed in half the pages.

❌ The first half is very disjointed. There is too much extraneous information that isn't used in the plot. (Like, what’s the deal with the whole ‘one rose, one daisy, one tulip’ business?)

❌ There is not enough essential information. Some hows and whys aren’t explained.

❌ The titular pink umbrella doesn’t even turn up until the final quarter or so.

❌ It is way too long to read aloud. It is also overly descriptive for a picture book.

❌ Are kids really interested in reading a love story, even if through a picture book?

Basically, the final few pages are indeed as cute as promised by the cover art. However, the rambling writing at the start and the potential love story at the end make me unsure if children will really enjoy this book. The official target age is 6-9 years, and 9-year-olds are certainly not naïve enough to accept the budding relationship as mere “friendship”. Perhaps this might work better for teens interested in a sweet budding romance with heartwarming graphics? It might also work for adult women who love movies such as Amélie.

It is very tough to decide the rating for this. As a children’s picture book, it fails miserably. As a young adult illustrated book, it could earn a 3 stars. (The sweetness of the final few pages doesn’t compensate for the needlessly extended first half.) The illustrations are worth much more than five stars. But keeping in mind that this is officially a children’s picture book, my rating has to be as per genre.