Review Detail

A short picture book, HOLD follows a young child and their father as a simple request turns into something more. With minimal words and boundless curiosity, readers are taken on an adventure with this duo as child requests to hold…everything.

Randy Ribay manages to tell an emotional story in under 50 words. Ribay manages to craft a story of a father’s patience and a child’s curiosity, almost entirely through two word requests and emotional illustrations. And when the kid is no longer able to handle everything they are holding, the point of holding on to what’s most important in life is drive home. It’s amazing storytelling!

The illustrations, done by Zeke Peña, are fantastic. This book is full of color, primarily in the foreground while some backgrounds are left as tan/pinkish sketches to keep the focus on the father and child. Through these illustrations, we get to see the father’s patience and the child’s emotions. The minute pauses, the look of being overwhelmed, the tears and smiles. It’s all communicated amazingly through the illustrations.

The message of this book is also a very cute one too. It shifts from the child’s curiosity and the father’s desire to be patient with him, to the child’s emotions and their realization of what they want to hold now. After time spent wanting to hold everything and anything, the child eventually realizes that they just want to be held by their father.

A really cute and emotionally resonant story, HOLD somehow manages to turn a simple request into a fun exploration of what’s important. Peña’s artwork expertly captures the emotions of father and child, culminating in a sweet final image of the two exiting their home together.