The Visit coming April 14th, 2026 from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; 18 pages
About the Author: “Núria Figueras has a graduate degree in journalism and is currently the editor of the Spanish children’s magazine El Tatano. Her writing has been recognized with the Mercè Llimona and Comte Kurt prizes. The Visit is Núria’s English-language debut and has been translated into over ten other languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Turkish, Slovenian, Portuguese, and Dutch. Núria lives in Barcelona, Spain” (Bio from Eedermans’ website).
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About the Illustrator: “Anna Font is a Spanish illustrator who has thrice been shortlisted as a finalist at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. She previously worked with Núria on the magazine El Tatano, and she was delighted when Núria reached out to collaborate on a new project for the Compostela International competition—the original version of The Visit. Anna lives in Barcelona, Spain. The Visit is her English-language debut” (Bio from Eedermans’ website).
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About the Translator: “Lawrence Schimel is a full-time author, writing in both Spanish and English, based in Madrid, Spain, who has published over 130 books in a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, graphic novels, anthologies, and children’s books. His picture books have won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a White Raven from the International Youth Library in Munich, and have been chosen by IBBY for Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. In addition to [his] own writing, he is a literary translator, primarily into English and into Spanish, who has published over 160 books. He is also the publisher of poetry press A Midsummer Night’s Press” (Bio from Society of Authors’ website).
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Little Fox’s mother must leave their den, and tells Little Fox not to answer the door for anyone. Alone for a while, Little Fox hears a voice outside. She hesitates to answer, but her curiosity is piqued when the voice claims its name is Silence, not Anyone. When she answers the door, Silence—a tall, massive, and transparent creature—enters the den, taking up the entire space. Little Fox panics when she realizes how little room she has. She fears Silence will eat her, so she offers to get Silence some blackberries, hoping that if Silence is full, then she won’t become its next meal. After having snacks, they play, but when Little Fox’s mom returns, Silence must leave, with no certainty of returning.
The Visit is a lesson in dealing with silence. Núria Figueras begins by isolating Little Fox, and when she introduces Silence, it’s this massive, imposing figure on the page. The illustrations play a huge role in the telling of this story, and one choice I believe was well-done was making Silence an outline, or a transparent figure. It conveyed the emptiness of silence, showing how silence can feel massive and stifling, but doesn’t obscure anything. In fact, the illustrations within The Visit were my favorite part of this book; it reminded me of the picture books I read when I was younger, with the textured, painted art style that Anna Font uses. While I enjoyed the illustrations, I did have one issue with the story: Little Fox opening the door despite her mother’s instructions. Though this story ended happily, this is not behavior young readers should emulate. It worries me that their takeaway may be that opening the door for strangers is okay because it might result in making a new friend. Perhaps it is my own caution at play, but if I were a parent or teacher reading this book, I would use it to talk about the dangers Little Fox could have subjected herself to. Outside of that, however, I think The Visit does a good job of showing young readers how to handle silence, depicting it as something that might be scary but isn’t actually harmful. That is a good lesson for them to take away from this story.
The Visit releases on April 14th, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank Núria Figueras and Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Grace McCool, Pine Reads Review Writer & Editor