This charming children’s book follows the story of Lola– a unique, very smart girl who keeps herself busy with research and analysis. Her siblings have other interests and she finds them frustrating in their approach. Her frustration comes to a head when Nana, annoyed that all her grandchildren are glued to their technology, demands that they harvest some beans for dinner. Lola doesn’t want to, but is sucked into an imaginative play scenario her siblings create to pass the time.
The characters are all fully fleshed out and have unique personalities. All their dialogue is easy to follow and each has their own voices. The “real” and “imaginary” characters all feel grounded. The plot moves along quickly, but nothing feels rushed. The problems are presented well, and resolved in a satisfactory way. The fact that Lola ends up using her intellect in a way that moves the imaginative play forward is wholly satisfying after seeing how much she struggles at the beginning. My only nitpick is that the ending is a bit too open to interpretation. All in all, this is a fun read, full of magic and fairies and good messages for children to overcome their fears!
I award this book 5 stars!
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