Willow makes a friend in the forest and together they learn how to listen to their emotions

Imaginative and metaphorical, it tells the story of a young girl with anger issues. When she encounters someone else with the same problem, they learn together what their feeling actually mean. Without knowing it, they use plants as metaphors: mushrooms will grow down under the ground but seemingly pop out of nowhere; our feelings grow down in us and then pop out of nowhere. Very educational to those who have trouble containing their emotions.

A sweetly illustrated graphic for younger readers that focuses on loss and grief. As Pilu navigates the unfamiliar and turbulent feelings of grief, she comes across a tree spirit similarly overwhelmed by feelings of insignificance. As the two work to reassure each other, the discover their own feelings could use a little attention. An age appropriate way to talk about self-care and feelings, and about finding your way back, even when you think you can’t.

While the artwork is cute and simple and a pleasure to look at, I found the dialogue between the characters to be very pushy and preachy. I understand I'm an adult and this is meant for a younger audience but it actually made me cringe reading some of the pages. Kind of like when Stan Berenstain died and Mike (the son) continued the artwork with Jan Berenstain (the mother) and their books got into religion and are just choking their readers with religious beliefs as they stuff them down your throat. When you look back at the old classic Berenstain Bear books they focused on every day values whether you are religious or not. That is what made these books so great. Sadly now their books focus 99.9% on religion and nothing else.

This is kind of how I felt reading this graphic novel. You can make a point, a lesson, without being SO LITERAL. The author, I found, has no faith in the age group this book was meant for. Yes, the child may be reading this with an adult, but the values and lessons were stuffed in the readers' faces without allowing a gradual move to what the novel was trying to point out.

Strongly reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's best movies, Pilu of the Woods follows the story of a young girl struggling to deal with her mother's death. Giving form to her negative emotions, Willow chooses to bottle up the fungus-like "monsters" that make her act out and say things that she doesn't mean. When she finds an unlikely friend in the forest, though, a little runaway dryad named Pilu, Willow learns how to better accept and deal with the "little monsters."

I loved the sweet illustrations and how this story of loss unfolded. I did struggle in the beginning of this book to follow the use of small monsters to illustrate Willow's feelings.

It's so cute!!!
(if you don't want it to get spoiled don't read it)

So Willow got an argument with hes sister and he ran into the forest with he's doggo they found someone who ran away too so he led a hand and adventure to her home but all of a sudden......

Well you better read the book! Than read the comments!!!

Pilu of the Woods is a story about dealing with grief and negative emotions. I think it does a really good job of visualizing how these emotions might feel to a child and discussing the best ways to handle them in a positive manner. While the artwork is mainly whimsical and lush for the majority of the story, the artist's depiction of negative emotions as little blob-like, but still cute monsters that can grow and grow help to create both a sense of unease and familiarity. A definite must-read for those who love graphic novels with a little bit of magic.

A really well-handled tale of learning to negotiate difficult emotions. Two peers who stumble upon each other--one human and one fey--gain insight from and through each other. Expressive without being didactic, authentic without condescending. Excellent artwork.

Oh oh oh !!! This comic is so heartfelt and so beautiful and so important ! Willow loves nature for its beauty, serenity, and intricacies, so unlike her feelings and school and home. This is the story of Willow learning to understand the little monsters in her- feelings, in this case, grief- and how to treat herself and others... A good, extremely pretty, kids comic for learning about emotional literacy, compassion, and self expression.