A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2024
A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Picture-Book Conversation Starter of 2024
A 2024 Kids’ Indie Next List pick
A Society of Illustrators 2024 Gold Medal Winner

From three-time NYT Best Illustrated creator of On a Magical Do-Nothing Day comes a stunning picture book about a little girl, the scab on her knee, and the healing they do together.

In this utterly enchanting and unexpected tale from international picture book star Beatrice Alemagna, a childhood mishap is the occasion for growth and self-reflection. When a little girl falls on the street, scraping her knee, her father tells her not to worry, that "a beautiful scab will form." But she does worry! The scab is not beautiful and it's keeping her from bending her knee! When will it ever go away? By the time the scab—who she has named Pepper—falls off, something astonishing has happened: the girl has come to feel affection for the scab and has a hard time letting go. With an unerring understanding of a child’s emotional life and a dash of absurdist wit, this picture book will stand with classics from creators like Tomi Ungerer and William Steig, who explore the weird, funny essence of childhood.

"How could you not immediately adore and trust this voice?"
--Bruce Handy, The New York Times Book Review

"Pepper & Me is a simple story, but is also a secret door to what days and weeks feel like when you are small. Beatrice Alemagna has the key, and we're so lucky that she does."
--Jon Klassen, Caldecott Medalist for This is Not My Hat

"Yesterday I fell. I tripped on a cobblestone--and oof! My dad cleaned my knee and told me, 'Soon you'll have a beautiful scab.' I got a scab, but it wasn't beautiful."--