Winner of the 2025 Gold Nautilus Book Award
What does the outside world have to do with what’s inside you? Quite a lot, it turns out. The Inside of ME is a lyrical picture book told in gentle rhyme that invites children to step outside, pay attention, and discover their own inner richness through the natural world around them.
Each illustration features a real, child-friendly location in Maine open to the public — turning the book into a quiet guide for outdoor adventure, whether you’re in Maine or anywhere close to home.
Awards & recognition
2025 Gold Nautilus Book Award
Reader Views Kids — 5-Star Review
Written by Jennifer Comeau
Illustrated by Suzi Linden
Softcover: 978-1-961905-14-6 | $12.95
E-book: 978-1-961905-15-3 | $2.99
Also available in a special hardcover edition printed with certified recycled materials.
June 2024 | 40 pages | Age: 4-7 years
Wholesale inquiries from retailers and schools are welcome via our Contact page. Schools receive a 10% discount on all purchases. 12 Willows titles are also available through all major bookseller platforms.
Using The Inside of ME with young readers
This book works well beyond the page. A few ways to extend the experience:
Nature journaling — After reading, invite children to visit a local outdoor space and sketch or write what they notice. The book’s close attention to the natural world makes a natural starting point.
Mindfulness moments — Select a passage or two to read aloud slowly, then invite children to sit quietly and notice what’s around them — sounds, light, texture, smell.
Explore the real places — The book features actual locations in Maine. Look them up together, find them on a map, and talk about what makes a place worth paying attention to.
Exploring your own place — The book is rooted in Maine, but its invitation applies anywhere. Take it outside wherever you are — a backyard, a park, a trail.
“A word-and-picture book that takes children and parents on a sun-and-wind-blown joy ride across the place where we live, reawakening our childhood souls in much the same way that Dylan Thomas’s ‘Fern Hill’ does.”
—Kerry Hardy, researcher, eco-historian, and author of Notes on a Lost Flute: A Field Guide to the Wabanaki
“The Inside of ME is a beautiful book that reminds children of all ages of the joy and gratitude we have for our intimate relationship with Mother Earth and all her children. It is a book to have in your personal library.”
—Dr. Anita Sanchez, Nahua & Toltec, author of The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times
“The Inside of ME is a wonderfully whimsical and reflective picture book that will carry readers easily through some adventures in the natural world. However, it will also invite readers to take a pause and think about the spaces and nature that surround them.“
—5 Stars, Reader Views Kids
“The Inside of ME shimmers. When I founded Climate Change & Consciousness, I did so with the full faith that inner and outer environments mirror each other. Jennifer Comeau opens this portal to our precious little ones so that they can feel their birthright of connection to the natural world.”
—Stephanie Mines, Ph.D., author of The Secret of Resilience: Healing Personal and Planetary Trauma through Morphogenesis and The Great Physician: Medicinal Poetry for the Anthropocene
“The book’s simple yet profound language reflects the majesty of the natural world, inviting readers on a journey to discover their own inner beauty. It reignited a connection to nature that resonated deeply within me, reminiscent of my wonder as a young girl.”
—Maria Inés Miranda, founder at Wise Women Chile and Innoavture