A gorgeous book about friendship, about collecting ordinary and extra-ordinary things, and about memories!

I fell in love with the cover and just had to add this one to my trolley when I was at Library #2 early September. It was just calling out to me to read it!

Meet Llewellyn (or Benjamin in Dutch), a little rabbit who absolutely loves collecting things so he can later recollect all those memories by opening the jars. We see him collect autumn leaves, butterflies, flowers, and much more. He has quite a collection, but his collection takes a spin when he goes out to collect red sunset water (something that shouldn’t be captured.. but now can) and meets another rabbit who also has the collector virus. And so we meet Evelyn (or Julia in Dutch). Together they connect, they click, and so we see them go out to collect all that is extra-ordinary and I was just gasping in amazement at what the all captured. Things that normally aren’t really captured they get. From sunsets to sunflowers still full in bloom to a night sky filled with the prettiest stars. And they fill Llewellyn’s house full with it until there is a gorgeous collection that I would absolutely love to see in real life. I mean, the illustrations did it gorgeously, but I just wanted to step in. Really get a feel of it. See those memories. Maybe collect a few of my own while I am in the world. I wouldn’t mind a stunning sunset. Or a gorgeous spring evening. Or a gorgeous moon-lit sky.

My heart broke when Evelyn had to leave. When Evelyn had to move far away. Really, for a moment I had forgotten that these two had families of their own. For most of the book we see them go on such big explorations that I thought they were adult rabbits. But apparently they were still kids. I was hoping and crossing my fingers that this isn’t how the story would end, and thankfully it doesn’t. Llewellyn has a wonderful idea, something that sparks joy back in both of them and I was just giggling and smiling and being so darn happy about it.

That last page! I loved it! I wouldn’t mind another book about Llewellyn and Evelyn… and what we saw on that last page.

The art. Stunning. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Exquisite. WOW. So many details. So many gorgeous things. There were many pages I would love to have as a print on my walls.

The translation was well done, it felt natural and kept the magic of the story. However. I am saddened by the names. Llewellyn and Evelyn are such beautiful names. Plus, they fit better together than Benjamin and Julia. I just don’t get why we have to keep changing names in translations. Yes, the names aren’t really that common, especially not Llewellyn as I have only read that one in books, but why would that be a problem? Expand children’s worlds.

All in all, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this gorgeous book to all!