The Girl & the Letter

In this heartfelt picture book from a debut author-illustrator, a young girl sets off to return a misdelivered letter, but her journey quickly unravels with interruptions, growing anxiety, and a flock of large birds that won’t stop following her.

In a sleepy town, where breakfast is predictable and Sundays move at the speed of toast, a young girl discovers a letter that doesn’t belong to her. So, under the watchful eye of an erudite bug who serves as our narrator, she decides it must be returned right away. But what begins as a simple errand quickly turns into something complicated: her father doesn’t share her urgency, well-meaning neighbors keep getting in the way, and, most peculiar of all, a Very Large Bird seems intent on following her every step. As her frustration grows, so do the number of birds, until the flock is so large she can no longer ignore their presence. Until, finally, she banishes the birds, mails the letter, and continues home to her ordinary Sunday. 

With witty humor with gentle suspense, debut author-illustrator Allyssa Yohana presents the swirling feelings that come when the world dismisses or belittles our feelings—and what happens when those feelings are finally set free.