Mary Allen

It's hard to decide what age this book speaks to. It is at once a fairy tale, with all the charm, colour and fantasy we recognize in the classics we read to send little ones off to sleep. But like the classics, it also explores the darker sides of human experience - in this case, loss of innocence, and the pain women encounter as they grow into adulthood. Ultimately, the main character Lilibet greets the outside world and its "creature" with a "mysterious understanding," a kind of reconciliation that allows the reader a sign of relief. All's right in the end in this modern fairy tale too. A thoughtful rendering of coming of age by author Phaedra Moon, with lovely expressive illustrations by Norville Parchment.