Leila and the Voice

by Shahrzad Maydani

Overview

A modern fable about a young girl who embarks on a journey to overcome fear and meets a supernatural creature along the way, for readers of What the Road Said and Where the Wild Things Are.

When the angry cloud comes... Leila runs. The cloud grows and grows, and Leila walks deeper and deeper into its depths. Then she hears a voice. Underneath all the cloudiness is a spot of light. Leila works to dig the Voice out bit by bit, until she has a companion to walk with. 

Whether drawing them a map for when they get lost or creating a net for when they fall, Leila's finally able to soar with the Voice into a world of technicolor light. But will it be enough for them to complete their voyage home? 

Leila and the Voice is a picture book about the journeys we start, the fear we face, and the courage we grow into as we learn that we've had what we needed all along to face what scares us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593620380
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/22/2025
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shahrzad Maydani is an award-winning illustrator of Iranian English descent. Her debut children’s book, Poetree, written by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds, received the Crystal Kite Award and was selected for the Spring 2019 Kids Indie Next List. Her following book, Bird Boy, written by Matthew Burgess, was a Junior Library Guild selection; and Francis Discovers Possible, written by Ashlee Latimer, was named one of the Best Children's Books of the Year by Banks Street College of Education.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Leila and the Voice by Shahrzad Maydani:


★ “A brilliant and deeply compassionate offering … Maydani’s use of different mediums work in concert to lend an epic feeling to Leila’s journey. Scratchboard illustrations etch the menacing monsters with swirls and designs that cover their bodies, like great creatures of myth. … Children wrestling with big feelings will be delighted by Leila’s wondrous adventure.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

“Via immersive artwork and emotive prose, Maydani explores what it takes to be resilient in the face of big emotions. … Bold scratchboard etchings, combined with chalk, pastel, and watercolor, throb with a vibrant coloring … resonates with emotional depth.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2025-04-04
A girl must summon her courage.

One morning, brown-skinned Leila encounters a “mad cloud” that won’t stop growing. As she flees, her surroundings grow menacing, and she becomes lost in a wooded hollow filled with trees studded with eyes. Suddenly, she hears a fragile voice. After she frees the source of the voice, it appears before her—a large horned pink creature with a manelike fringe around its head. As they set off through the woods, the voice expresses worries (“What if it rains?” “And what if we get lost”), which Leila answers gently. When the mad cloud returns, Leila transforms the voice into “a sea serpent to battle the storm.” The cloud perseveres, though, knocking Leila down. The voice, now stronger, finds her and soothes her, reminding her that she’s “a mighty thing.” The two end their journey by plunging into “the wild wind,” and Leila promises never to forget the voice; the unseen narrator reassures readers that she keeps her promise. With chalklike textures, the illustrations are truly stunning; the cloud and the other creatures Leila encounters are haunting, and Maydani ramps up the drama for the climactic moments, with colors and shapes blending. The text, however, may leave readers with questions. While caregivers and educators will recognize this as a story of a child discovering her inner voice, readers will likely find it too abstract and will need adult guidance to draw connections between the imagery and Leila’s emotions.

Beautiful but ultimately puzzling.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews