The Balcony is a lovely tribute to nature and its power to build a community. Melissa Castrillon is a master of layout design: you can see a diverse range of compositions in this book. Simultaneously, she told the whole story clearly without explaining it in long verses. Text is limited, usually just one word that appears on pages that reflects a change or high point of the story. The muted colours also elevate the nostalgic and whimsical feeling the book brings out. One thing worth mentioning is the book format: it is tall and steady as if it is a tree, waiting for readers to come and reveal itself.