LEILA AND THE VOICE

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.