Shh! We Have a Plan

Winner — Association of Illustrators Award for Children’s Books (2014)

Winner — Parents’ Choice Award (2015)

Winner — Ezra Jack Keats Book Award (2014)

Winner — Irish Book Awards (Junior) (2014)

Winner — Junior Design Award (2014)

Winner — Bank Street College Irma Black Award Honor Book (2015)

Winner — Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award (2015)

Winner — Vermont Red Clover Picture Book Award (2016)

Short-listed — Baby & Me Style Awards (2014)

Shh! We Have a Plan is a hilarious and visually engaging picture book that follows a group of four friends on a quest to catch a magnificent bird perched high in a tree. At the outset, the friends are convinced that the bird must be caught and, in whispers and tip-toeing, they concoct what they believe to be a perfect plan: slow and silent steps, nets poised, and a synchronized “Ready one… ready two… ready three… GO!”

However, at the very next turn of the page, the plan falls spectacularly apart. The would-be hunters end up as a ridiculously tangled bundle, while the oblivious bird flies off freely above them. One failed attempt after another ensues, each more uproarious than the last, as the determined gang’s schemes continue to backfire in comic fashion.

Amidst the chaos of nets, traps, and pratfalls, a quieter, littler character observes from the sidelines. Though previously overlooked, this friend begins to show that perhaps kindness, patience, and gentle ingenuity can succeed where hasty plotting has failed. As the story unfurls, the book subtly underscores themes of cooperation, compassion, and the joy of discovery — all delivered through playful text and bold, expressive illustration that invite young readers to both laugh and reflect.