Alice and Mrs. Nobody love getting up to no good. While giving each other fashionable haircuts, belting nighttime duets, or scribbling magic-marker wall murals, the two friends are inseparable. Until the day they disagree on what to play next.

Mrs. Nobody wants Alice to play Puppy. But when Alice pushes back (she was Puppy last time!), she feels the wrath of Mrs. Nobody, who grows bigger and bigger and louder and louder before disappearing altogether.

Although Alice suffers a long, lonely night without the company of Mrs. Nobody, she finds some solace in the sound of her own voice. When Mrs. Nobody reappears the next day, Alice knows what she must say.

This debut picture-book by award-winning novelist and poet Y. S. Lee puts a surprising spin on the concept of setting boundaries — particularly with those closest to us. Readers will find themselves immersed in the fanciful world of Alice and Mrs. Nobody — brilliantly rendered by internationally acclaimed illustrator Marie Lafrance — while delighting in the twists of an imaginary friendship gone awry. (From Groundwood Books)

Mrs. Nobody is for ages 3-6.

Y. S. Lee's fiction includes the YA mystery series The Agency, which was translated into six languages. Her poems have appeared in publications such as Event, Room, Rattle and the Literary Review of Canada. Her poem Saturday morning, East Pender Street was longlisted for the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize. She lives in Kingston, Ont.

Lee was a finalist for the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize for her piece Tek Tek.

Marie Lafrance is an illustrator based in Montreal. She won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award in 2013. Her other illustrated books include The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson, Gemma and the Giant Girl by Sara O'Leary and The Brass Charm by Monique Polak.