What is a thingamabob? A thingamabob can be anything . . . and so can you! A sweet, empowering picture book about self-discovery from the acclaimed author-illustrator of Petra.

In the beginning, the universe was one great big thing. Then that thing exploded into gobs and gobs of thingamabobs.

All of the thingamabobs had a purpose . . . all except for one small, shapeless thingamabob. No one knew what it was for. It wasn't this or that. It wasn't here or there. What's the use of this thingamabob?

But everything changes for Thingamabob when it makes a friend in the park. And Thingamabob realizes that if you aren't one thing . . . you can be everything!
MARIANNA COPPO is an author and illustrator who studied editorial illustration at MiMaster in Milan and now focuses on freelance illustration. Her debut picture book, Petra, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She is also the creator of Ray, A Very Late Story, Such a Good Boy and, with author Daisy Bird, Whose Poo?. Her most recent book is Thingamabob. View titles by Marianna Coppo
  • SELECTION | 2023
    BRAW Amazing Bookshelf
  • SELECTION | 2022
    Chen BoChui International Children's Literature Award - Best Picture Books of the Year
"Coppo succeeds in guiding readers into the titular character’s interiority, making it possible to relate its failures to their own and resulting in a piquant and poignant adventure." Publishers Weekly

"Once you've seen some aspect of the world the way Marianna Coppo presents it, you won't go back to seeing it the old way." Imaginary Elevators

About

What is a thingamabob? A thingamabob can be anything . . . and so can you! A sweet, empowering picture book about self-discovery from the acclaimed author-illustrator of Petra.

In the beginning, the universe was one great big thing. Then that thing exploded into gobs and gobs of thingamabobs.

All of the thingamabobs had a purpose . . . all except for one small, shapeless thingamabob. No one knew what it was for. It wasn't this or that. It wasn't here or there. What's the use of this thingamabob?

But everything changes for Thingamabob when it makes a friend in the park. And Thingamabob realizes that if you aren't one thing . . . you can be everything!

Author

MARIANNA COPPO is an author and illustrator who studied editorial illustration at MiMaster in Milan and now focuses on freelance illustration. Her debut picture book, Petra, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She is also the creator of Ray, A Very Late Story, Such a Good Boy and, with author Daisy Bird, Whose Poo?. Her most recent book is Thingamabob. View titles by Marianna Coppo

Awards

  • SELECTION | 2023
    BRAW Amazing Bookshelf
  • SELECTION | 2022
    Chen BoChui International Children's Literature Award - Best Picture Books of the Year

Praise

"Coppo succeeds in guiding readers into the titular character’s interiority, making it possible to relate its failures to their own and resulting in a piquant and poignant adventure." Publishers Weekly

"Once you've seen some aspect of the world the way Marianna Coppo presents it, you won't go back to seeing it the old way." Imaginary Elevators

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