Thank you, neighbor!

Title:

Author:

Chan, Ruth, 1980- author, illustrator.

Summary:

Join our narrator and her dog on their daily walk as they greet the people in their neighborhood--from the mail carrier and bus driver to the sanitation workers and grocery clerks and more. Whether listening, asking, helping, or just saying hello and thank you, it is our patience and kindness that make a neighborhood feel like home. This story gently reminds us to slow down and be grateful for all the people, places, and things around us.

Audience:

006-008.

General Note:

Includes an author's note about how Ruth Chan's own Brooklyn community inspired her to create this picture book.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Neighborhoods -- Juvenile fiction.

Neighbors -- Juvenile fiction.

Gratitude -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9780062909534

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2021]

Call Number:

P CHAN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003551796	New Picture Books	CHAN	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Celebrate all the people, places, and things that make our neighborhoods special with Thank You, Neighbor! Selected as a best picture book of the year by Publishers Weekly.

Join our narrator and her dog on their daily walk as they greet the people in their neighborhood--from the mail carrier and bus driver to the sanitation workers and grocery clerks and more.

Whether listening, asking, helping, or just saying hello and thank you--it is our patience and kindness that make a neighborhood feel like home. This charming story gently reminds us to slow down and be grateful for all the people, places, and things around us.

With funny and heartfelt illustrations, this charming book includes an author's note about how Ruth Chan's own Brooklyn community inspired her to create this special picture book. Perfect for sharing at home or in the classroom.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--In Chan's latest, an Asian child's neighborhood walk with their pup encourages readers to slow down and connect with others. The story begins indoors as the child clips an orange leash on the eager pooch and, on the title page, leaves a low-rise apartment. The true-to-life stroll that follows mixes typical dog behavior (and waste) with short, sweet interactions with neighbors and community helpers. Whether keeping everyone safe, tidying things up, or rescuing a cat from a tree, the neighbors "take care of each other" and are "a big family." That's why, as the child narrator advises, it's important to always say, "Thank you, neighbor!" The walk eventually circles back home, where an adult greets the child with warm, steaming dumplings. The bright, colorful digital cartoon illustrations provide plenty of opportunities for engagement and discovery. Readers can peer through windows or look in backgrounds for small, often comedic, details. The urban setting's denizens are diverse in age and skin tone; a few use canes or wheelchairs. Of the many professions represented, one librarian's subtly tattooed arm is a delightfully stereotype-breaking touch. A visual reference to Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson's Last Stop on Market Street positions this similarly community-minded story with a strong sense of place as a wonderful companion. An author's note and photo (with real neighbors!) provides personal context about Chan's own walks through Brooklyn with her dog. VERDICT A welcome reminder for readers in all kinds of neighborhoods. Highly recommended.--Alec Chunn, Eugene P.L., OR

Publisher's Weekly Review

Social psychologists have shown that saying hello to the people one encounters can make one feel happier and more connected. Chan's (The Alpactory: Ready, Pack, Go!) young protagonist, cued as a person of Chinese descent, goes one better. On walks each day with a sweet-faced pooch, they trade "Thank you!" with the people in their multicultural community: the firefighter turning on a fire hydrant fountain, the person sweeping leaves on a sidewalk, the garbage collector who offers to take a bag of the hound's poop. But this sunny book also takes a no-excuses stand, suggesting that slowing down long enough to show appreciation, no matter how harried life becomes, isn't just politesse--it also holds people together. As the child walks past a packed bodega and into a library, where the librarian is barely visible behind a pile of books, the first-person narrative observes, "these words work in even the busiest times," reminding readers that treating a community like a big family is "what makes our neighborhood// feel like home." Crisp, digitized acrylic, gouache, and charcoal pencil art highlights a range of apartment dwellers liaising on narrow sidewalks, and the book's strong sense of the common good is as invigorating as a brisk walk. Ages 4--8. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)