Late Today - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

Maria Marshall
14 hours ago
3 min read

I have the privilege to share with you this amazing picture translated from the initial Korean release. It is a touching and thought-provoking book exploring kindness to animals in the face of society's acceptance of inaction and inconveniences.

Book cover - a wet black and grey cat hides under a car as rain pours down.

Late Today

Author: Jungyoon Huh

Illustrator: Myungae Lee

Translator: Aerin Park

Publisher: Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company (9/23/2025)

Ages: 4 - 8

Themes:

Kindness, cats, empathy, and bravery.

Synopsis:

A resonant reminder to make the time to be kind, set in the bustling city of Seoul.

One rainy morning, the Seogang Bridge hums with traffic—and in between the cars is a tiny kitten. People mutter to themselves, but no one wants to stop or slow down. The raindrops pelt the road; the cars screech and honk; the kitten mews. Finally one car pulls over…

With atmospheric art by acclaimed illustrator Myungae Lee, Late Today asks readers to choose compassion in the midst of busyness. This stirring story is perfect for cat lovers, city dwellers, and anyone who’s ever lost themselves in the rush of life.

Opening Lines:

8:15 A.M.

We can’t be late today.

What I LOVED about this book:

The end papers perfectly frame this story, with a grey miserable opening and the radio's announcement that "traffic is congested all over Seoul." And then a shift to wispier clouds on a blue sky and the expected clearing of traffic "by 9 A.M." It's fun how, even though all the same cars are on the bridge in both images, the shift in sky color lightens the reader's (and possibly the drivers) mood.

End Pages - on the left, a red bridge in Seoul packed with bumper-to-bumper vehicles on a cloudy, grey, miserable morning. On the right, same scene with a lighter, happier blue sky with wispy white clouds.

Text © Jungyoon Hu, 2025. Image © Myungae Lee, 2025.

Although set during the morning rush in Seoul, this will be familiar for many families all around the world. Parents will likely cringe, and kids will have fun spotting the school bus, city bus, taxi, trucks, and maybe even find a car that looks like theirs. Poignant, sparse text interplays with full spreads, panels, and interesting perspectives in the stunning, pastel and colored pencil illustrations to create an engaging experience which asks each reader how they would respond.

Internal spread - 3 lanes of bumper-to-bumper cars heading south and 2 packed lanes heading north.

Text © Jungyoon Hu, 2025. Image © Myungae Lee, 2025.

Having set the scene of a heavily congested bridge on a grey, rainy day for the opening spread, the page turn introduces the least expected event of the morning - "a kitten, barely two weeks old," trying to cross this crowded bridge. I love the wonderful action, emotions (anxiety, bravado, and fear), and heart-stopping danger which Myungae Lee captures in the black and white panels as she viscerally makes the reader feel the tiny, soaking wet, kitten's plight.

Internal spread- a series of 16 black and white square panels with a small black kitten dodging, jumping, and trembling as it dodges car tires.

While many people saw the kitten on the bridge, "no one had the courage to save her." For some, it was too dangerous to stop. Some looked away, some just worried and some focused on their own lives. A mom and child watched the kitten dodge and swerve to the center of the bridge. As the rain grew in intensity, one person, "gripped by fear . . . because they couldn’t see the kitten anymore" acted. With a wonderfully succinct text, created by Jungyoon Hu and Aerin Park, and a varied and interesting use of white space and size of panels, the book places the reader into the anxiety, mixed emotions, and need to act of the parent and child.

Internal spread - on the left, the nose of a car dives toward the pavement. On the right, the headlights illuminate the word "Screeech!"

The resulting irritated "honks" followed by the ominously grey and black, rainy wordless spread with a flock of birds soaring off the page really sets up the emotional climax for the family and the rewarding heart-felt, hopeful ending. I sincerely hope you treat yourself and find this book. It's a heart-warming, wonderful book exploring the importance of kindness and bravery, despite societal inaction, apathy, and any resulting delay.

Resources:

make your own origami, toilet roll, or marionette cat.

what would you have done or said? What do you think your family or friends would say or do?
pair this with Elki Is Not My Dog by Elena Arevalo Melville, illustrated by Tonka Uzu, The World of Maxime by Lucile de Pesloüan, illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn, and How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham for other books about kindness and empathy toward animals others might not notice.,

If you missed my interview with Jungyoon Huh, Myungae Lee, & Aerin Park on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.