Hello, Beautiful Animal

Written by Lauren Soloy

Illustrated by Janie Hao

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1433-9

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

October 2026 

 

There are countless days in the calendar that recognize pets and animals, whether to walk them, to honour those who have passed, or to love them. October is an especially important month as October 4 is recognized as World Pet Day and World Animal Day. That day would be well served by a reading of Lauren Soloy and Janie Hao's Hello, Beautiful Animal, a picture book that reminds us of how we should treat all the animals with kindness and appreciation. 

Illustration by Janie Hao from Hello, Beautiful Animal, written by Lauren Soloy

Lauren Soloy begins by reminding young readers that all animals are amazing and should be treated well. That could include getting them medical care, showing them affection and attention, grooming them, feeding them good food, giving them opportunities for fresh air and exercise, and keeping them happy. Being a responsible caregiver to an animal is filled with joys and requires much from us, not the least of which is kindness.

Illustration by Janie Hao from Hello, Beautiful Animal, written by Lauren Soloy

Illustrator Janie Hao shows us a variety of animals, from pets like a dog and a cat and a lizard, but also animals in the wild like fish, otters, birds, and apes. The stars of Hello, Beautiful Animal are the family Corgi and orange tabby upon which two children shower much attention and love.

Illustration by Janie Hao from Hello, Beautiful Animal, written by Lauren Soloy

I have reviewed books both by Lauren Soloy, who wrote and illustrated Every Leaf on Every Tree (Nimbus Publishing, 2025), and by Janie Hao (Mad at Dad, Kids Can Press, 2024), and I am surprised by how distinct this story from their earlier works. Lauren Soloy, who has illustrated for others (e.g., A Tulip in Winter: A Story About Folk Artist Maud Lewis by Kathy Stinson) as well as authored and illustrated her own stories diverges with Hello, Beautiful Animal by not illustrating it. Instead, she focuses on sharing positive messages about being an animal caregiver, instructing young readers what it takes to be compassionate and responsible towards animals, domestic and others. 

Illustration by Janie Hao from Hello, Beautiful Animal, written by Lauren Soloy

Janie Hao's digital illustrations let us see animals both as foci in our lives as well as a part of the larger world. Whether watching a Corgi howl for food or depicting a world of animals of land, sky, and water, Janie Hao takes us into their worlds. It may also be our world, but through the use of perspective, Janie Hao's colourful art depicts them as they see, feel, and are.

 

Hello, Beautiful Animal has all the charm of a storied picture book, but it is actually an engaging guide to help children understand our responsibilities to animals so that we can keep their lives fulfilling, just as they enrich ours.

Mad at Dad

Written and illustrated by Janie Hao

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1026-3

32 pp.

Ages 2-6

October 2024 

What gets this child riled up? It's her dad who is just being a dad, trying to get her to eat her vegetables so he can tidy up the dishes. But when she gets this big feeling, she has an arsenal of strategies to get her out of it.

From Mad at Dad, written and illustrated by Janie Hao

She tries a host of activities to get her out it her anger. She talks it out with her stuffies, she counts, she draws, and she does cartwheels. She tries quiet activities that might not be so, and energy-burning ones that might help her let go of her annoyance at her father. She might not like being mad but it's an emotion that's hard to let go of. 

From Mad at Dad, written and illustrated by Janie Hao

With time, that anger transforms into sadness, probably from the exhaustion of those big feelings, and her dad, the original source of her ire, is there to help her through.

From Mad at Dad, written and illustrated by Janie Hao

Like the emotions the child is feeling, bigger than just being displeased, Mad at Dad is larger than its 9" x 9" format. Mad at Dad is an interactive picture book that allows the reader to fold-out pages that allow for immense four-page spreads that are equal to the size of her emotions. Not only will young readers get the full force of her wrath, depicted with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw–when she's not releasing outraged squiggles from her expressive mouth–they'll see the bigness of those feelings in the slams and the shouts and the cries. Janie Hao, a Sheridan College grad of illustration, gives the full range of anger in her character's fury, using colours of red and yellow, black and orange. It's not until the child is wearing herself out and crashing under a comforter in the dark that the tones become primarily blue. Fortunately, her dad also brings the light and colour with him. 

From Mad at Dad, written and illustrated by Janie Hao

Janie Hao's digitally-rendered artwork relays the full scope of this rollercoaster of a father-daughter relationship but also the changes that happen as the child attempts to calm herself with strategies readers' own parents and teachers might have taught them. It'll be refreshing for young children to see that not everything works and that they just need to try something different. And even if nothing works, time will heal and remind them that the big deal that started the anger does not have to remain a big deal and being mad at dad doesn't have to be a permanent state. In fact, it might be the very thing that reminds them of the love that exists between a parent and child regardless of tough moments.