School Library Journal calls James Ransome’s wordless picture book A PLACE FOR US “deeply moving” and “masterfully captured” in starred review

★ A Place for Us by James Ransome
Published by Penguin Random House/Nancy Paulsen. Aug. 2025. K-Gr 4.

“In this wordless picture book, an unhoused mother and son do what is necessary to survive in an urban setting. Through lively watercolor scenes, readers experience their unsettling daily routine. The characters represented are Black, highlighting the economic disparity many marginalized communities grapple with in most major cities. There is diversity represented in the background characters who go about their busy lives with no notion of what inner struggles the mother and son face. Ransome casts a spotlight on libraries as a place of refuge. When the library closes, the mother and son must seek out a place to sleep. They wander in the darkness before ending up on a park bench while ­local wildlife watches on. When they awaken, the mother ensures her son is well-groomed and ready to start another school day. This is a tough, deeply moving story that sadly is all too common.

VERDICT Recommended for lower elementary grades where fearless books on difficult topics, here masterfully captured in wordless form, are collected and lauded as required viewing.”

–Alison Schwartz (SLJ)