Review sponsored* by the author of Lilly the Lash
The Children’s Book Review | October 19, 2016
The Life and Times of Lilly the Lash: The Garden Gathering and The Kacklin’ Kitchen
Written by Julie Woik
Illustrated by Marc Tobin
Age Range: 4-9
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Snow In Sarasota Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0966333572 and 978-0989384001
What to expect: Life Lessons
The Life and Times of Lilly the Lash is a picture book series that focuses on important life lessons and building self-esteem. The series stars a unique fairy known as Lilly the Lash.
“You’re probably wondering who Lilly could be?
Such an odd looking fairy, to land in a tree.
She once was an eyelash, who lived on my face.
Who guided my soul with her goodness and grace.”
In The Garden Gathering, the first book in the series, Lilly the Lash can be found helping a giant sunflower accept her size and find self-worth. Lilly the Lash recruits a teeny soccer-playing spider to help show readers that we all have strengths despite our sizes and differences. The story ends with a page of fun facts from the garden, which makes this both an inspiring and educational book for nature lovers and any child needing a boost in self-respect and self-confidence.
The Kacklin’ Kitchen is the fourth book in the series. When Lilly encounters an insecure milk carton in charming Cobblestone Cove, she devises a plan to restore the balance of giving and receiving respect. The book is filled with amusing characters, like Chubby Cheddar and Bubba the Bread. It provides an easily digestible lesson on reverence that the author attentively dishes out—plus, there are plenty of fun facts to be found in the end pages of this book, too.
Author Julie Woik’s goal is obvious: she wants to empower young children by opening their hearts and filling them with compassion. She uses lovely singsong and toe-tapping rhymes to bring her lessons to light. Her tone is uplifting and supports the positive messages of her tales. The main character, while a female eyelash-fairy, surprisingly appeals to both girls and boys due to her charismatic personality and go get ‘em attitude.
The digital creative imagery produced by Marc Tobin is bold, bright, lively, and kid-friendly. The large and easy-to-read text is printed on high quality paper, which rounds out the positive reading experience provided by this series. It should also be noted that the Lilly the Lash website provides access to free activities and educational lesson plans that go along with the books.
For those looking for well thought-out stories with morals and a unique set of characters, The Life and Times of Lilly the Lash books are an amusing blend of entertainment and education that children will happily listen to or read solo.
Available Here: LillyTheLash.com
About Julie Woik
Julie Woik is a writer and poet who has created the character-building children’s book series, The Life and Times of Lilly the Lash. Having worked as an early childhood teacher’s aide earlier in her career, Julie has a dynamic personality and sensitivity which enable her to readily connect with children of all ages. She also has a back ground in psychology, which helps inform the lessons of the books in the series, each of which focuses on a different character trait such as self-esteem or honesty. In addition to writing the books in the series, she applies her tremendous attention to detail in all aspects of the books’ development, from art direction to publishing, distribution and promotion.
Julie’s tremendous energy and her own child-like playfulness help her to connect with young children at book signings and author presentations around the country. Whether she is presenting to an entire school or a single class of students, she is driven by a passion to empower children to make the world a better place, one person at a time. A native of Wisconsin, she lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband.
For more information, visit: LillyTheLash.com
Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. Julie Woik, the author of “The Life and Times of Lilly the Lash,” sponsored* this non-biased review. Learn more about getting a book review …
