LillyBelle: A Damsel NOT in Distress

by Joana Pastro, Jhon Ortiz (Illustrator)

Overview

When faced with the danger of giants, ogres, and witches, other damsels might quake with fear . . . but not LillyBelle!

At the School for Damsels, LillyBelle enjoys many damsel-in-training classes, like cake baking and vocal training, but the rule that a damsel must be in distress . . . not so much. When she's captured by one villain after another, LillyBelle will need to use her charm and her wit to save herself and prove once and for all that damsels don't have to be in distress—all in time for tea!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635922967
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Originally from Brazil, Joana Pastro is a former architect. This is her first book for children.

Jhon Ortiz is a 3D character animator and illustrator from Valencia, Spain. He is a dreamer who always looks for new stories.

Editorial Reviews

"The picture book’s lessons of self-empowerment, the importance of dialogue, and the value of understanding are efficiently rendered, aided by rounded, earth-toned illustrations that create a grounded fairy-tale world little readers will enjoy." —Kirkus Reviews

"LillyBelle is spunky and brave. The book is beautifully illustrated and...help[s] make the story come to life. It is a fun read, all the way to the surprising ending." —Kiss the Book

From the Publisher

2020-06-30
A damsel-in-training saves her own skin.

LillyBelle adores tea parties, but she is not the standard student at Lady Frilly’s School for Damsels: She enjoys playing loud music and baking absurdly tall cakes. LillyBelle also refuses to accept Lady Frilly’s lesson that damsels are meant to be kidnapped and saved, never to properly fend for themselves. One day, while out playing hopscotch, LillyBelle is abducted by a witch, but LillyBelle isn’t afraid. Instead of waiting for a prince or a knight or a wizard to save her, LillyBelle takes matters into her own hands to decide her own fate. But for LillyBelle, escaping the witch is just the beginning of a long journey back home that finds her using her baking skills, fondness for loud music, and even Lady Frilly’s deportment lessons to return home unharmed. Pastro effectively uses both the traditional rule of three and oft-seen fairy-tale characters to subvert a particularly pernicious fairy-tale trope. The picture book’s lessons of self-empowerment, the importance of dialogue, and the value of understanding are efficiently rendered, aided by rounded, earth-toned illustrations that create a grounded fairy-tale world little readers will enjoy. LillyBelle has beige skin and fluffy black hair; her classmates are somewhat diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 13% of actual size.)

An empowering fairy tale. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews