Anne Paradis

Princess Lila lives a fairy-tale life in this French-Canadian picture-book, with all of the books, toys and clothing she could desire, and an endless array of servants to see to her every need. The one thing she doesn't have is the freedom to explore the nearby forest, and to see the wider world. When her parents, determined to keep her safe, will not relent, Princess Lila begins to build a tower, in order to see beyond the castle walls...

Originally written in French as Princesse Lila et la château en chantier, and released in English translation by CrackBoom! Books at the same time as that original, Princess Lila Builds a Tower is a cute little original fairy-tale. Author Anne Paradis' story explores a common childhood experience - wanting to see more of the world, but being constrained by the safety measures put into place by one's parents - while illustrator Karina Dupuis's artwork provides a sweet, cartoon-like visual accompaniment. Although I did enjoy this one, on the surface level, the conclusion, in which Princess Lila spies another royal child, also in a tower, gazing back at her from the distance, cemented my feeling of unease about its underlying themes. The social isolation that Lila experiences is real, and cannot be entirely ameliorated by the long-distance friendship we are led to believe, through the conclusion, that she will form, and I finished the book with a number of questions. Will Lila ever be allowed beyond the castle walls? Will she be able to visit with this new friend? Does the tower really help the situation, or does its construction signify that the princess will remain a prisoner, however well-cared for? What does it mean that in traditional fairy-tales it is the witch who puts the heroine in a tower, but here the heroine builds her own tower? Whatever the answer to these questions, it did occur to me that this story might be one that a current-day, lockdown-imprisoned child might find very relatable. It was published in 2017, so that parallel is entirely accidental, of course. Leaving aside my concerns about its themes, which other readers might interpret differently, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers who enjoy fairy-tale style stories, or to those looking for children's books addressing isolation.… (more)

Princess Lila Builds a Tower is a cute story about a princess who had everything, except freedom to go outside her castle into the forest. Her father lets her plan, supervise and assist with the building of a tower to view beyond the forest. This book can be used in many ways with young children. It can be used for setting goals and working to accomplish them, teamwork and co-operation as well as a introduction to problem solving and recognizing that problems can have more than one solution. The illustrations were very well done. They were cute, simple and colourful, yet added so much to the story. You could see the various expressions on Lila's face. This book is written for young children, but could be used in a classroom with primary and even junior aged children. I could definitely see it used, then have the children make their own towers using various craft and recycled items to make it sturdy and a certain height for a science lesson. A book that needs to be in every school library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

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Caillou and his grandpa love to practice soccer together. Grandpa shares his soccer stories, gives Caillou a special high five and tells him how good he is at playing. When grandpa becomes Caillou's soccer coach, Caillou is happy, at first. When grandpa starts sharing his stories with the team and giving everyone a high five, Caillou becomes a bit jealous and unhappy. Grandpa explains that when he is the coach, he needs to treat everyone the same. Caillou realizes that it is okay to share his grandpa with the team, they will still be able to have special time together. An interesting story about explaining jealousy, trying hard and having fun with a young child. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.… (more)