Millie's Secret

by Gyo Fujikawa

Beloved children's book from yesteryear.

16 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Gyo Fujikawa was an American illustrator and children's book author. A prolific creator of more than 50 books for children, her work is regularly in reprint and has been translated into 17 languages and published in 22 countries. Her most popular books, Babies and Baby Animals, have sold over 1.7 million copies in the U.S. Fujikawa is recognized for being the earliest mainstream illustrator of picture books to include children of many races in her work, before it was politically correct to do so.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books I remembered but couldn't recall the title or author of for the longest time, so now it's stowed here for safekeeping. It's the only Fujikawa book I've ever read, but it was given to me by a teacher in kindergarten and I fondly remember it because the illustrations are so unique, vivid and aesthetically pleasing. More importantly, the secret involves her dog Buttercup (she has puppies!), so the pup has a featured role, which is all I ever asked for from my picture books.

My mom and I were actually just talking about kids + cursive writing a few days ago and she brought up how even though I knew how to read by that point, I had trouble with "this one book" because the text was written in cursive and I hadn't learned that yet, so it was almost like a foreign language. She couldn't remember which book it was, but I was really proud of myself when, after a few minutes of thinking, I came up with this title, because until that point I actually hadn't remembered the writing style (or seen this book in 20+ years). Now, of course, I think that's one of its coolest features.

[Jacki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Millie's Secret is a toddler-size board book. The book is written for Nursery-age children.

Millie is the main character and has a secret she promises she will share with her friends, but she delays throughout the book. The story ends with Millie sharing the secret with all her friends.

A very cute book with great drawings. There are many children depicted throughout the book; I really like that there are numerous races and ethnicities represented. The biggest drawback is the font used for the story is done in script. Since this is a board book I feel it is geared more toward nursery-age children, but sometimes primary children find nursery books a good match when first learning to read. Young readers who may be interested in the book may have difficulty reading the words.

I think the book is very appealing to children, especially children who might be part of a blended family with more than one race represented.

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gyo Fujikawa's illustrations are unlike any other. The soft colours and cute characters just warm my heart. Plus, this book leaves the reader in suspense until the very last page! A timeless, loveable classic.