Say Hello, Lily
Written by Deborah Lakritz and illustrated by Martha Aviles (Kar-Ben, 2010)
Lily is a shy girl who comes out of her shell when she visits a senior citizen facility with her mother.
The good stuff
- Depth–I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity and depth of this 32-page picture book. I found myself still thinking about both the text and the illustration long after my reading. Lily is an artist and uses those skills to put her shyness behind her, but she is also introduced to active seniors and community service.
- Depiction of active seniors–The residents of Shalom House are vital, active people. Mrs. Rosenbaum–Lily’s former neighbor–paints, Mrs. Seidel used to have a shoe store and Dr. Berman was a dentist. They take exercise classes in the facility’s social hall and have parties, too.
- Helping seniors–I applaud the idea of visits to Shalom House and Lily’s decision to invite her new senior friends to her birthday party. Multigenerational relationships are important and are often overlooked or avoided.
The not-so-good stuff
- The sub-theme of Lily’s new shoes didn’t work for me. It seemed superfluous. But, I did love Martha Aviles’ illustration of Lily’s slippers!
- The only sense I had of Lily’s age was in the illustration of her in a car seat. I would have thought her a little older.
Overall
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0!
I loved the illustrations too. It was my first chance to see Martha’s work – she is illustrating my forthcoming book from Kar-Ben, The Shabbat Princess.