SERIOUSLY! ARE WE THERE YET?!

A self-help guide for adults, presented in the manner of a children’s picture book.

In this brief, somewhat whimsical work, authors Milana and Edwards and illustrators Horton and Horton adapt the form and sentiment of a kids’ book—complete with colorful images and simple, read-aloud rhymes—and apply them to distinctly adult concerns. There’s no larger, coherent plot here; each page is a separate, quick meditation on some aspect of contemporary adult life, such as “I once tried new things, was fearless & fun, / Seems so long ago, when I was so young.” Another rhyme reads: “What if all that is left at the end of the day / are piles of regrets, bills and debts left to pay?” From such somber prompts, the book’s creators craft a series of sunny sentiments aimed at adults who feel overwhelmed by modern life or disappointed by how expectations turned out. The book shapes a larger message of optimism, with bright affirmations designed to raise the adult readers’ spirits: “What came before has made me this me. / I am exactly who I’m meant to be,” asserts one verse. “The secret’s inside (as you already know) / Only you can help you continue to grow,” reads another. The book’s larger goal is to allay adult fears (such as “What if this is it, the best I will see?”) and help harried readers to see the encouraging, even transformative potential in everyday worries, and its accentuation of the positive can be effective at times. The illustration style is winningly cartoonish, with clean lines that match the simple, straightforward concepts. The prose also showcases a puckish, topical humor, as well: “I’ll climb a new mountain, start eating kale,” one line jokes, accompanied by an illustration of a TV remote control. “Change this old channel, it’s my fairy tale!”

A charming and sometimes-uplifting book about finding contentment.