Late Today written by Jungyoon Huh, illustrated by Myungae Lee, translated by Aerin Park

Late Today has been on my radar since I first saw it advertised in Shelf Awareness. Late Today is a translated picture book about a kitten who finds itself in rush hour traffic in Seoul, South Korea. I lived in Korea for about 4 years, so I'm always excited to see a book-in-translation from Korea!

I was able to get both the English translation and the original Korean, which was a real treat! I love how different the covers are... it just goes to show how much book covers are optimized for their audience. How fascinating that the English edition features the title in large print and focuses heavily on the kitten, while the Korean edition focuses on the mom and child and has a fairly small title. Both editions feature the same oil pastel illustrations and illustrative text.

Plot wise, this book is about a mom and child stopping traffic on a busy bridge during rush hour to save a kitten. But the illustrations and the text invite you to look deeper. Late Today is about the collective experience of desperately wanting to do the right thing and yet holding back for fear of the burden of responsibility — and what happens when you actually DO take on that responsibility.

When we first see her, the kitten is barely two weeks old, an adorable black smudge on the dirty wet road. The patches of brown on the textured page are so heartbreaking... If I look at this page too long, it makes me cry.

An entire spread is dedicated to the kitten darting under the tires and cowering. Lines of blue rain and blurs of dark clouds add to the drama and urgency.

In the most innovative spread, passengers on a bus stare out at the reader. Each of them struggles with seeing the kitten in danger. "Too heartbreaking to see. I'll just look away," thinks one passenger. "Why is no one helping out?" thinks another. In these passengers we see ourselves... the part of us that is yearning to help... and the part of us that thinks, "Just this once, I'll turn a blind eye."

Someone finally becomes brave enough to stop their car, stop traffic, and take the time to rescue the kitten. Although it's not explicitly stated in the text, the illustrations clue us in that the mom from the beginning is the one who steps in.

When the mom finally picks up the kitten, her hands take up lots of space on the page. Her hands are in full color, unlike the rest of the spread. In that moment, those hands are the kitten's whole world. I loved Myungae Lee's illustrations of the kittens paws... so cute.

Are we ever too busy for kindness? That is the question of this book, and the tagline that made its way into the advertisements for it. What a piercing question! Late Today boldly calls the reader out, and calls the reader in. It also reassures us, as even when the mom stops traffic and does the impossible yet right thing, "Traffic is expected to clear up at 9:00 AM."

Book Info

• Title: Late Today

• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers/Eerdmans

• ISBN: 9780802856494

• Author: Jungyoon Huh

• Illustrator: Myungae Lee

• Translator: Aerin Park

• Pub date: Sep 2025

• Source: https://www.edelweiss.plus/?sku=0802856497&g=4400

  
  

For further reading, check out Erin Dealey's interview with author Jungyoon Huh, or this blog post about the book from Eerdman's Books for Young Readers. The publisher also has resources for educators and an adorable printable poster.