DESCRIPTION - in a Jar, 2020

Here's a marvelous picture book, charmingly written and beautifully illustrated, about the power of memory and the magic of friendship.

Llewellyn, a little rabbit, is a collector. He gathers things in jars--ordinary things like buttercups, feathers, and heart-shaped stones. Then he meets another rabbit, Evelyn, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things--like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and the wind just before snow falls. And, best of all, when they hold the jars and peer inside, they remember all the wonderful things they've seen and done. But one day, Evelyn has sad news: Her family is moving away. How can the two friends continue their magical collection--and their special friendship--from afar?

DESCRIPTION - Out of a Jar, 2022

This highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed and bestselling picture book In a Jar stars one little bunny dealing with some very big feelings.

Llewellyn does not like to feel afraid or sad, angry, lonely, or embarrassed. And so he comes up with a brilliant plan: he tucks each of his feelings into jars and hides them away where they won't bother him anymore. But when he gets in trouble in class, Llewellyn finds he needs to put away excitement too. And when joy is quickly followed by disappointment, he decides to get rid of joy as well. After a while, Llewellyn walks around not feeling much of anything at all. And what happens when his emotions refuse to be bottled up any longer?

In this richly illustrated and universally relatable picture book, Llewellyn soon discovers that life is more colorful when he sets his emotions free. And only then, by facing and embracing each of his feelings, is he finally able to let them go.

DESCRIPTION - Hope in a Jar, 2025

In this companion to the acclaimed and bestselling picture books In a Jar and Out of a Jar, a little bunny and his friends collect their hopes and dreams for the future in jars.

Llewellyn the bunny and his friends dream of many things. Some of their dreams are small, like learning to ice skate, visiting a friend, or acting in the school play. And some of their dreams are big, like going to the moon, or becoming a ballet dancer or a wildlife photographer. Their dreams feel so precious that the bunnies place them in jars for safekeeping. But when a storm comes and destroys their collection of jars, Llewellyn and his friends wonder: what's the point of dreaming if everything could be lost?

This timely, powerful, and beautifully illustrated story of perseverance and resilience explores setbacks, loss, and grief, and shows how—with the help of friends and loved ones—to find the strength to start again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Marcero is the author and illustrator of the picture book bestsellers In a Jar, which was called "stunning" in a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and "beguiling" by the Wall Street Journal, and Out of a Jar, which was an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year and was called "simultaneously simple and profound" in a starred review from School Library Journal. Learn more at deborahmarcero.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @deborahmarcero.

REVIEWS

"Fans of Marcero’s previous outings with Llewellyn will thoroughly enjoy this sweet, affirming tale. Her watercolor, pencil, ink, and digital illustrations are bathed in soothing blues, yellows, purples, and greens while using perspective to give the world, both big and small, a sense of profundity from any angle. A gentle look at the importance of always keeping hope alive." —Kirkus Reviews

"The gentle gradation of hues and delicate textures in Marcero’s cartoon illustrations serve as approachable scaffolding on which to hang big ideas . . . A story with philosophical subject matter and a nuanced and subdued approach to it." —The Horn Book