A Place Just for Me

by Loredana Baldinucci, Melinda Berti (Illustrator), Monica Meneghetti (Translator)

Overview

An adorable picture book for young readers about the importance of finding a quiet spot to ourselves where we can think, dream, and just be. For fans of Marianne Dubec.

Silver is the youngest mouse in a big mouse family. He’d love to have a quiet spot all to himself to do what he likes best: absolutely nothing! But it is almost impossible in his burrow. His noisy siblings are playing ball, dancing, and listening to music. His parents are busy cooking, building gadgets, and reading books.

What should Silver do? He tries to find refuge in the burrows belonging to his forest friends, but finding a place all to himself is harder than he thought. There isn’t a single spot in the burrow that’s quiet enough for him to do nothing at all…

Join Silver along his journey to find a safe hideaway—just for him! Filled with stunning illustrations, A Place Just For Me is a charming reminder of honoring our own spaces and finding a quiet spot to think in our busy world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781778402388
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Loredana Baldinucci is a translator and editor of children's books, and has been the Italian voice of Rick Riordan for years, translating the Percy Jackson, Apollo and Magnus Chase series. She usually takes care of other people's books, but she loves writing in all its forms, and as an author she has published illustrated books and chapter books.  She lives and works between Umbria and Milan.

Melinda Berti lives and works in Florence. She loves to explore and create and tries to bring a bit of her world into everything she draws. Winner of the 2024 Sossi Prize, she works for Italy and abroad.

Editorial Reviews

"Young readers tired of siblings and other family members invading their spaces and searching for respite will identify with Silver’s longing for privacy and be warmed by the thoughtfulness of his loving family. Intricate colored-pencil drawings…will delight readers and have them returning again and again to search for new details....a gentle journey appropriate for emerging and confident young readers.”
—Booklist

“Echoing nothing so much as the exquisite, naturalistic whimsy of Kaya Doi’s Chirri & Chirra series … A homey tale with a classic storybook feel and a gentle, uplifting conclusion.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-05-30
A rodent seeks a room of his own in this Italian import.

Silver resides in a lovely home under an old elm tree with his grandparents, parents, and five siblings. All have unique talents and have scouted out areas to explore them within the bounds of their burrow. But Silver—“the smallest mouse of them all”—wants a place that’s “quiet enough for him to do nothing at all.” That’s hard to come by, so he strikes out, hoping to claim a spot at a friend’s home. But Mole’s house is too dark, Rabbit’s is even more bustling than Silver’s, and Bear’s snoring is too loud. In a bit of a Goldilocks conundrum, with nothing feeling quite right, Silver heads home to discover that his mom has constructed a sweet little loft just for him. The emotional, intimate experience of looking for understanding everywhere and finally finding it in a warm familial hug gives Baldinucci’s simply told, well-paced story universal impact. Berti’s illustrations emphasize that the creatures’ homes are all deeply special to them; the pages are filled with detailed visions of flowery fields and cozy domestic scenes, echoing nothing so much as the exquisite, naturalistic whimsy of Kaya Doi’s Chirri & Chirra series.

A homey tale with a classic storybook feel and a gentle, uplifting conclusion.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews