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The Surprise

Author Zadie Smith, Nick Laird

Illustrated by Magenta Fox

Hardcover

$17.99 US

Penguin Young Readers | Viking Books for Young Readers

8.75"W x 11.38"H x 0.38"D | 14 oz | 30 per carton

On sale Jun 28, 2022 | 32 Pages | 9780593525975

Age 3-7 years

Reading Level: Lexile AD530L | Fountas & Pinnell M

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This back-to-school season, individuality is in! Nothing makes a splash like being uniquely yourself—and celebrating what makes you different.

From acclaimed authors Zadie Smith and Nick Laird, with art from exciting newcomer Magenta Fox, comes a powerful picture book debut!

"[A] delightful tale for little oddballs everywhere."—Entertainment Weekly

Meet Maud: a guinea pig who inexplicably wears a judo suit—and not everyone understands or approves. When Maud is thrown into a new and confusing situation, it takes brave decisions and serendipitous encounters for her to find her place and embrace her individuality.

The Surprise is an endearing story about the quiet power of being different by New York Times bestselling author Zadie Smith and award-winning writer Nick Laird, and introduces an exciting debut illustrator, Magenta Fox. Together they have created a picture book that adults and children alike will treasure.

Zadie Smith is the author of the novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW and Swing Time; as well as a novella, The Embassy of Cambodia; three collections of essays, Changing My Mind, Feel Free and Intimations; a collection of short stories, Grand Union; and the play, The Wife of Willesden, adapted from Chaucer. She is also the editor of The Book of Other People. Zadie Smith was born in north-west London, where she still lives. View titles by Zadie Smith

Nick Laird was born in Northern Ireland and studied at Cambridge University. He has published two novels, Utterly Monkey and Glover’s Mistake, and three collections of poetry, To a Fault, On Purpose, and Go Giants. He is the recipient of many awards for his fiction and poetry, including the Betty Trask Prize, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and the Somerset Maugham Award. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, he teaches at Columbia University in New York. View titles by Nick Laird

Magenta Fox was born in southwest London in 1994. She studied English at the University of Exeter and since moving back to London in 2015, has been working as a children's book designer. These days she works freelance—illustrating, writing, and designing children's books from her flat in south London. View titles by Magenta Fox

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Raves for The Surprise:

"[A] delightful tale for little oddballs everywhere."—Entertainment Weekly

"Adorable and sweet...A fun story of friendship and acceptance."—Kirkus Reviews

"This charming story embraces friendship, self-discovery, and fun. For its relatable message, it would be a good addition to a classroom, library, or school counselor’s anti-bullying picture book collection."—School Library Journal

"The wholesome conversations between Emily and Maud about being different spur Maud’s growth, as she moves from defeated self-doubt to joyful confidence, giving the hopeful message that 'life’s too short not to be an oddball.'"—BCCB

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