A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2024
A Bookshop.org Best Picture Books of 2024
A 2024 Kids’ Indie Next List pick
A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Picture-Book Conversation Starter of 2024
A Favorite Children's Book of 2024—Growing Book By Book
2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List


"How could you not immediately adore and trust this voice?....A reluctant love story…whimsy…but also truth, in the way children process the yucky yet intriguing surprises served up by their bodies.” —New York Times Book Review

“Alemagna deftly captures feelings of loss over something inconsequential to adults but of outsized importance to a child….Uniquely moving.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A relatable, very unique story of acceptance, unexpected friendship, and letting go with stunning, eye-catching artwork." —Imagination Soup (Best Picture Books of 2024 — so far)

"Imaginative...the kind of picture book that seems straight out of a kids' imagination."—Book Riot

"It’s easy for readers to see their own concerns reflected in the narrator’s—and to breathe a sigh of relief when the ordeal is over—in this slice-of-life portrait of life’s small comings and goings.”—Publishers Weekly

"From the mind of internationally acclaimed author/illustrator Beatrice Alemagna comes the next essential duo in children’s literature: a child and their scab….unforgettable.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Intimate and indelible….[an] exploration of pain, healing, change, wonder and time.” —Horn Book

"Pepper and Me deftly taps into the wondrous and curious mind of a child—a scrape-turned-surly-scab-come-to-life!—alongside the surprising, inventive, and perfectly askew drawings I've come to expect in a new Beatrice Alemagna book. I am a huge fan—of Pepper and Ms. Alemagna." —Matthew Cordell, Caldecott Medalist for Wolf in the Snow

"This beautifully illustrated story made me want to befriend all the bruises, scars and scabs that my inner child carries with her. I feel like hugging this book!" —Elise Gravel, creator of the Disgusting Critters and Olga series

"The story of a girl and her relationship with her scab. The book was magically odd and the kids had so much to say about. I LOVED IT! " —Colby Sharp, educator

2023-11-18
A child has a complex relationship with a large scab that forms after a bad fall.

In a straightforward, childlike voice accompanied by charmingly naïve mixed-media illustrations, a pale-skinned narrator with long red hair recounts the story of a scraped knee and its aftermath. A few days after a fall and “you-know-what” dripping down the child’s leg, a humungous scab forms. Though adults reassure the child that it will go away soon, “we kept staring at each other, the scab and me…I was afraid it would stay forever.” The “hideous” scab is a source of constant distraction, the “worst one in the whole world,” but it follows the little one everywhere, so the child decides to name it Pepper. Pepper becomes a companion through the summer, and the scab slowly changes, pulling at the surrounding skin and shrinking. “Sometimes it seemed like she was smiling at me,” the child notes, and soon the little one begins to share stories, thoughts, and dreams with Pepper. Then one morning, Pepper is gone. She is found among the bedsheets, small and sad. Alemagna deftly captures feelings of loss over something inconsequential to adults but of outsized importance to a child. Off-kilter compositions create an uneasiness that offsets the sweet childlike scenes, allowing for complicated emotional responses.

A uniquely moving story about an unlikely subject. (Picture book. 4-8)