The Visitor

A story about friendship and shyness, full of light and colour, that plays out in a mini theatre. A book for kids and all ages. Elise was frightened-of spiders, people, even trees. So she never went out, night or day. One day a strange thing flies in through the window and lands at her feet. And then there comes a knock at the door. Elise has a visitor who will change everything.

This is a gentle, sympathetic story about a child who unwittingly brings light and colour-literally-into a lonely person's life.

Children’s Book Committee at the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature Best Children’s Books of the Year New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books BookPage Best Books of the Year

“"To make the book's spreads, German artist Damm (Waiting for Goliath) draws the tale's characters, then places their cutout figures in a small, tidy abode with furnishings crafted of paper and board, and photographs them inside. Apron-wearing Elise likes to clean her home, but she doesn't like to leave it: 'Elise was scared of everything. . . ./ So she never went out./ Night or day.' A blue paper airplane sails in through the window of the dimly lit, grayscale house, and the following morning, there's a knock at the door. It's a boy with a red cap and bare feet. 'I'm here for my plane,' he says. 'And can I visit your bathroom? It's urgent!' As the boy heads upstairs, he leaves a trail of color behind him, and readers sense that things are going to change. Sure enough, the boy and Elise begin a most unexpected friendship. Elise's house fills with color--warm yellow, fuchsia, and red--and we see her smile. Damm emphasizes how much people need others to care about, and readers will enjoy going back over the pages to see how the colors change."--Publishers Weekly”

"In Antje Damm’s remarkable “The Visitor,” a boy rushes into a lonely woman’s black-and-white 3-D collage world, bringing an explosion of color, light and life." -- The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books
"The miniature sepia scenes of her house, filled with cardboard furniture, are gradually brought to life by washes of colour as her small visitor begins to dispel Elise’s anxious loneliness." -- Best new picture books, The Guardian
"Gorgeous in pictures & words, this is a terrific read-aloud selection & a great story to spark conversation." -- School Library Journal, Starred Review
"In Antje Damm’s remarkable “The Visitor,” a boy rushes into a lonely woman’s black-and-white 3-D collage world, bringing an explosion of color, light and life." -- The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books
"The miniature sepia scenes of her house, filled with cardboard furniture, are gradually brought to life by washes of colour as her small visitor begins to dispel Elise’s anxious loneliness." -- Best new picture books, The Guardian
"Gorgeous in pictures & words, this is a terrific read-aloud selection & a great story to spark conversation." -- School Library Journal, Starred Review

Antje Damm is a celebrated children’s writer and illustrator. Born in 1965 in Wiesbaden, Germany, she now lives with her husband and four children near Giessen. She has worked as an architect and has written and illustrated over a dozen books for children.

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