The Soot
The Soot is a wordless picture book about a young girl in a modern African city who wakes to a clear morning and, over the course of a single day, watches her world darken under a cloud of pollution. Through expressive, panel like images, the book follows her growing understanding of what the “soot” is doing to her city and to the planet, and shows how she and her mother respond by planting a tree in their garden. Without a single written word, the story uses color, facial expressions, and visual metaphors to show how even a child can answer fear and grief with a concrete act of care for the Earth. Intended for children ages 4–8, families, educators, and librarians who want to introduce environmental issues—especially air pollution and climate awareness—in a gentle, hopeful way, The Soot presents a serious topic in a visually rich, child friendly way and models that even small hands can take meaningful action.
Write Your Feedback
About Author
Bestselling author of mystery novels, weaving suspense and intrigue. Captivating readers with every page turn.
Other books
Browse other books
.png)
.png)
The sudden contrast from the beautiful and vibrant pink room to the dark, grey soot grabbed my attention immediately. I loved the little details of the clouds actually being lips that suck up the soot to match Chisom’s imagination. I also really loved that in the end, her mother didn’t just use words to settle Chisom’s fears, but used her actions by planting a sapling with her.
A delightful and culturally sensitive introduction to environmentalism, with lush illustrations, this short title is sure to spark conversation and ignite young minds.
What a cute way to introduce to children a way to start caring about the planet! The art felt very diverse and unique. It was a good message, and a good read that would be informative for children! Thanks for the Arc read!
A short, sweet book about climate anxiety in children, the ending is a little abrupt (one more page with a "this is how we can help" type thing would feel more final I suspect), but it's a nice explainer in story form for a small child I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review
"The Soot" by Ayo Oyeku is a charming story about a little girl who is concerned about pollution negatively affecting the planet. I think this story can serve as a great introduction to air pollution for children because it explains the topic in very simple terms. The representation of soot acting like a suffocating blanket around the Earth was very clever, and it really communicates a sense of urgency to help the planet. The illustrations were detailed and unique, and I appreciated the bright colors of the illustrations, which will not only help keep a child's attention while reading but also provide a nice contrast to the dark soot. The transitions between scenes were a little clunky, and the ending was a little abrupt, but the message is definitely received.
I think this is a wonderful book to introduce children to concepts of environmental issues. The book has beautiful illustrations and make it easy for kids to to follow along.
For the most part I liked this book, but I thought that it ended abruptly. I would have liked to see at least one last sentence, just to add a note finality to the story. The book could still be open-ended, but a little bit of closure is still nice. However, that is my only critique for this book. I really liked the general message of this book, and I think that it is very important for kids to learn just how important trees are for both us and the Earth. This book does a great job of making air pollution and trees very easy-to-understand for little kids, and the information included in this story will definitely be relevant past childhood, so I applaud that choice. Lastly, I thought that the illustrator did a splendid job of conveying Chisom's various emotions at different points in the story, and it really helps readers become more involved in the book.
The story is cute and well written giving a good intro to children on how respect the planet but the netgalley copy was so messy it was terrible. The illustrations were good.