Hello, Beautiful Animal

A warm and thoughtful introduction to caring for and loving our animals - and ourselves.

In a gentle, helpful voice, this book explains to young children what animals need to thrive, describing each of the basic requirements of all animals (including humans!) and sweetly suggesting how to meet them. For example, "It's a good idea to greet an animal with affection upon waking. 'Good morning, my beautiful animal, ' you can say." Covering everything from grooming and feeding to exercising and sleeping, it's the perfect companion for every animal lover!

In this unique picture book, celebrated author Lauren Soloy shares a personal message about the importance of taking care of all the animals in our lives, including the human kind. Her advice is practical, while her tone is affirming and tenderhearted without being overly sentimental. The book helps children recognize that humans are animals, too, and need just as much adoration, love and care. It offers young children easy-to-understand lessons on the needs of living things and an excellent overview of how to care for an animal. It would make a wonderful gift for a child with a new pet. Award-winning Janie Hao's illustrations blend the real with a sense of the imagined to capture the special relationship between young children and animals.

Author: Lauren Soloy
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.20h x 10.10w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781525314339
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2026
Booklist 10/01/2026

About the Author
Lauren Soloy's picture books include The Hidden World of Gnomes, When Emily Was Small and Tove and the Island with No Address. She currently lives in a house that is exactly 100 years older than she is, in rural Nova Scotia, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People. She shares her home with her librarian husband, two curious children, an ever-expanding collection of books, two hives of bees and one cat. She has a Visual Arts BFA with Honours from the University of Victoria, and a certificate of Fine Furniture from Camosun College. Along the way, she has learned to make a Queen Anne highboy, a pottery mug, a hand-knit pair of socks, a headstand and a mess.
Janie Hao is a fun-loving, media-playing, idea-generating illustrator currently living in Toronto, though she has lived all over Canada. When she is not drawing, Janie enjoys devising stories and puns to amuse (or dismay) her loved ones. She holds a degree in illustration from Sheridan College and was among the winners of both the AI-AP International Motion Art Awards 8 and the Applied Arts Student Awards 2020. Her debut picture book, Mad at Dad, which she wrote and illustrated, was the winner of the 2025 CBC Kids Read competition.