Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cozy, lushly drawn fever-dream adventure promotes kindness.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In 102, young George gets sent home from school with a fever, and the number 102 echoes through his day: in the temperature on the thermometer, on the clock at 1:02 a.m., and in other small, strange places. That night, George shrinks smaller and smaller and follows a cricket through hidden passages in his bedroom wall. Outside, he arrives at a tiny home under an oak tree, where a mouse family is anxious: Their little one is sick, and the father mouse hasn't returned with the last bean needed to finish a healing 102-bean soup. As George pieces together how his earlier choices may have affected this miniature world, he has a chance to make things right.
Is It Any Good?
In this mysterious picture book, the common experiences of being sick and worrying about a decision morph into a nuanced, lovely bedtime story that's warmly and gorgeously illustrated. In 102, Matthew Cordell's narrative blends dreams and reality as a wandering child, shrunk in miniature, meets an odd cast of characters, and the repeating number 102 makes the pages a bit of a treasure hunt. The colors on the pages are both bold and soft, and while the dream logic can be a little disorienting, it's also the point: Kids get to sit with uncertainty, notice details, and consider how kindness and curiosity can change someone's whole world. The story is gentle and reassuring, making it a great bedtime, sick time, or anytime read.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why George might have decided to help the mouse family in 102. What does he learn about taking responsibility?
What parts of the story feel like they could be real, and what parts feel like a dream? Describe a time when you woke up wondering if your dream was real.
When someone in your family is sick, what are small ways you can show kindness and be helpful?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Matthew Cordell
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Adventures , Animals ( Bugs , Mice )
- Character Strengths : Curiosity , Empathy
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : April 14, 2026
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 6 - 8
- Number of pages : 48
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : April 29, 2026
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