NEW from Enchanted Lion: The Purple One, A Story of Prince
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain, so let’s get up, shout, & celebrate the ✨music, magnetism, & mystery✨ of the one and only PRINCE!
Written by Matthew Burgess & illustrated by Sirin Thada, The Purple One is a picture book biography of music icon Prince, from childhood to superstardom, that crackles with electricity & soul.
Prince is known around the world as the high-heeled, purple-robed, perfectly himself creator of such ultimate hits as “Purple Rain,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Kiss,” and “1999.” But what about the child who became the man, and the B-sides to the life that made Prince the “High Priest of Pop?”
Before he achieved global superstardom as Prince, Prince Rogers Nelson was a child growing up in Minneapolis, with a universe of music inside him. From his first forays into writing songs with his school friends, to his unprecedented three-album record deal at 19, to his surprise hit film Purple Rain, to performing at the Super Bowl, Prince was never afraid to blaze his own trail—creating something entirely new, entirely free, & entirely PRINCE that would shape music & culture and resonate with audiences for generations to come.
We can’t wait for you to discover THE PURPLE ONE and share it with readers and Prince fans young & old. Happy reading, happy sharing, & happy moments of ALIVENESS! 💜🕊️🎤
THERE’S A GHOST IN THE GARDEN is a New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2024!
From Kyo Maclear & Katty Maurey, this is an evocative picture book about time & memory, the invisible & the visible.
A gentle, probing picture book from award-winning author Kyo Maclear and celebrated illustrator Katty Maurey about the special relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, and the many traces, memories, and even ghosts with which we live.
There’s a ghost in Grandpa’s garden. It leaves tracks by the path where there was once a cool, dark stream. It makes mischief by knocking over flowerpots. And sometimes, it leaves behind a gift perfect for a curious boy in the form of little treasures from times gone by.
The boy who is the narrator of this picture book loves spending time with his grandpa in the garden, enjoying the natural world, listening to memories of how things used to be, and making up stories about the friendly ghost. With Grandpa as his loving guide, the boy learns to look closely at the garden and marvel at its mysteries, to uncover the layers of history that make up this special place, and also to fashion new things from all that he has found.
There's a Ghost in the Garden has received an impressive not one, not two, but SIX starred reviews. Kirkus calls this picture book "quiet yet powerful," praising both the text and art: "Maclear's stunning text suggests the meandering feeling of revisiting memories" and "Maurey's dreamy gouache illustrations further evoke feelings of stillness, remembrance, and the strong yet gentle bonds of family." Meanwhile, Publishers Weekly deems it "a contemplative journey into a realm where past and present reside cheek-to-cheek"; School Library Journal describes it as "a loving story with beautiful artwork on the importance of grandparents and memory"; and Booklist characterizes it as "subtle yet poignant" and "a gentle, artful, and quietly enchanting book."
OUT NOW: Miss Leoparda
A wonderfully illustrated, ecologically minded picture book about a bus-driving, tree-loving leopard and the value of nature & community
Beautiful illustrations from an internationally recognized fine artist make this fun, ecologically minded book about a bus-driving, tree-loving leopard a standout!
When Miss Leoparda isn’t sleeping in her beloved tree home, she drives the bus, taking her animal friends around town on their animal business. Every day, all of the bus’s seats are taken . . . until the day something amazing and new appears: a little car that speeds off into the distance, leaving clouds of smoke in its wake. Intrigued, the bus’s passengers each get a car of their own, one by one, until the day that Miss Leoparda is the only one left on the bus.
But more and more cars on the road mean more and more traffic jams, more and more arguments, and fewer and fewer trees—as trees, it seems, are just getting in the way of the jammed-up travelers. Will Miss Leoparda be able to nourish a new awareness and help her community return to their senses? With humor, insight, and gorgeous art, this is a picture book about the importance of the natural world and the value of community, to read again and again.
💫 New from Enchanted Lion 🌟
COMET & STAR: A Story of Cosmic Friendship
A beautiful picture book of cosmic dimensions about the tranquility and happiness that come from no longer feeling alone, by Korean singer-songwriter Lee Juck and award-winning illustrator Lee Jinhee.
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Have you ever looked up at the stars, shining so far away, and wondered if just like us, they have feelings, too?
This is a story about a star with many strong feelings—a lonely little star that lives all alone, in a far, far corner of the universe. One day, a comet appears—is this finally the star’s chance to make a friend?
Inspired by Halley’s Comet, this picture book written by Korean singer-songwriter Lee Juck and illustrated by acclaimed artist Lee Jinhee is about the moments of connection—however brief or rare—that give us the joy and hope to shine bright across the vast universe.
Out now: Our Beautiful Darkness — An Unruly novella that illuminates the beauty of darkness
A blackout leads two teens to discover the intimacy & vulnerability that can only be shared in the dark in this fully illustrated YA novella from celebrated Angolan author Ondjaki & artist António Jorge Gonçalves, translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
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OUR BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS begins one night when all of the sudden, the light goes out. And in this absence of light, a pair of teenagers bare their souls. Into the warm silence of the night, they share a conversation filled with their stories and dreams… and maybe even a first kiss.
Set against the backdrop of the civil war that ravaged Angola in the 1990s, OUR BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS weaves the country’s history with a teenage boy’s family stories. But when a power outage shrouds the neighborhood in darkness, everyday realities fade away… As the boy and a girl sit talking in the backyard, memory gives way to imagination & vulnerability, and the space between them becomes charged with emotional electricity.
Their resulting conversation is both a meditation on the storytelling impulse & a gripping narrative of first love that, through its particulars, ascends to the universal.
OUR BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS has received not one, not two, but THREE starred reviews! Kirkus hailed it as “a brilliantly elemental exploration of the light darkness can bring,” while Publishers Weekly praised it as “arresting” & “imbued with a touching sense of existential whimsy” and Bookpage as “an existential exploration of the heart” & “a stunning representation of not only pain and conflict, but also the joy that is still able to make its way through.” And now, we can’t wait for you to read OUR BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS & tell us what you think of this striking book!
New from Enchanted Lion: Kamau & ZuZu Find a Way — a stirring contemporary folktale of African diaspora, resourcefulness & intergenerational love
In this gorgeous picture book with a cosmic dimension, young Kamau and his grandmother Mama Zuzu wake up one day to find themselves suddenly, inexplicably on the moon. Eventually, patiently, with scraps of cloth and a kernel of corn and the stories they carry with them in their hearts, they build a new life for themselves—and even find a way to send a letter that traverses the vast expanse of time and space to make it to their family Back Home.
This picture book also started with a letter—a letter from renowned poet to award-winning illustrator Diana Ejaita, in which she wrote: “This is a story of diaspora and severance. But how to take up these themes in an accessible and deeply imagined work for children? As a mother to two young ones, I am often thinking about wanting my kids to see themselves and their history reflected in nuanced, multitudinous ways. It is in this spirit of imagination, history, and creative action that I wanted to make this book.”
Diana Ejaita’s response? “Wonderful read, powerful story, beautiful words. It was beautiful to discover how feelings of sadness and pain can be said in such a beautiful and full-of-hope way.” And so, two artists—each of whose work for adults deeply reflects their personal roots in the African diaspora—came together to tell the story of little Kamau & Mama Zuzu in a powerful picture book for children. We can’t wait for you to read it!
Out now: The utterly charming Making Space 🌼💛✨
Making Space is a delightful & inspiring picture book about making time for the little things that make life rich & beautiful.
Here, there are little things that take time & patience (“to plant a seed… and watch it grow”), and things that may last only a moment, yet are wide & deep (“for those just passing by”). There are little moments of connection & togetherness (“to keep a secret”), and moments of wondering, willing, & seeking on your own (“for taking a chance”). There are experiences of exuberant joy (“for what can bring you joy”), and experiences of quiet contemplation (“for those who are no longer here”).
Heartwarming, funny, imaginative, clever… all of the moments presented here hold true to the child’s experience of time—time as an expansive field of dreams & freedom—and thereby to childhood itself. Each spread is populated by children who each have their own personality (and with nary an adult in sight). And the limited palette of the book—which features a beautiful, sunny yellow—emanates warmth, life, and light!
We hope you’ll enjoy lingering in the evocative, playful, spacious, free, & utterly delightful pages of Making Space 💛
Johnny, the Sea, and Me:
A middle-grade novel from Colombia about pirates, parrots, and finding yourself & your place in the world
☀️🏝️✨Originally published in Colombia, this heartwarming middle-grade novel tells the story of ten-year-old Pedro, and the life-changing encounters he has with an old islander and the sea.
With humor & heart, Johnny, the Sea, and Me gracefully intertwines the enchantment of magical realism, the thrills of pirate adventures, and the rich cultural history of the Caribbean with the personal, emotional journey of Pedro as he finds himself and his place in the world. We can’t wait for you to dive in to this amazing summer read! 💛
Out now: WE GO TO THE PARK,
by Sara Stridsberg & Beatrice Alemagna
We Go to the Park is a beautiful, lyrical meditation on going to the park to play—which extends into a reflection on life itself—from Booker Prize-longlisted author Sara Stridsberg, and the inimitable, award-winning illustrator Beatrice Alemagna!
The park beckons us to leave our daily routines behind and enter its zone of endless possibility. In the park, the usual rules don’t apply. In the park, what matters most is the moment, and losing track of time to the timelessness of imagination, invention, observation, and chance. In the park, there are risks, of course, but also the deepest rewards, to be found in the freedom experienced through play that is both embodied and participatory. It is not the lone “I,” but the “we” that goes to the park, where chance encounters might suddenly become moments of deep connection—however fleeting—with others, nature, and ourselves.
Originally published in Sweden, this first English–language edition printed in Italy on thick cream paper offers an immersive experience of transformation, longing, and transcendence to readers of all ages, while reminding adult readers in particular of the everyday miracle contained in encountering another consciousness.
This is the fifth book to appear under Unruly, an imprint of visually complex, sophisticated picture books for teens and adults.
ALMA winner Isol’s Loose Threads is out now!
A young girl discovers the value of the chaotic, creative underside in this picture book from Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Isol.
In Loose Threads, Argentinian picture book–maker Isol turns her masterful storyteller's eye on an embroidered Palestinian scarf, imagining a universe made of fabric: the beautifully hand-stitched top side—made up of neat stitches and clear outlines—is the "normal" world, in which everyday people go about their everyday lives; but just on the other side of this world, lies the fabled Other Side, made up of the scarf's underside of knots and carried-over threads—a tangled, messy, uncertain expanse, accessible in dreams alone.
As Leilah, the protagonist and narrator of the story, goes about on her adventures, takes risks, causes trouble, and tries to set things right, young readers won't be able to help rooting for this intrepid main character, who brims with confidence, curiosity, enthusiasm, and charm. Meanwhile, the storytelling—with its short chapters, heavy helping of humor, and conversational tone and focus on dialogue—will appeal to picture book and graphic novel lovers alike.
New from Enchanted Lion: There Was a Shadow
From two-time New York Times Best Children’s Book author Bruce Handy, a luminous picture book that invites careful observation of light and shadow in the natural world, as well as in our own emotional landscape.
A Publishers Weekly 2024 Summer Read!
As the sun makes its daily journey across the sky, light comes down to illuminate our world. Moving and dancing along with this light come a variety of shadows—those cast by the sun and those cast by our feelings, minds, and memories. Here we follow a girl from dawn through dusk into night as she and her friends play with their shadows, take refuge in the shade of a large tree, and set out again for home in the violet glow of twilight.
With a lyrical text from Bruce Handy and dramatic, sensitive art from award-winning illustrator Lisk Feng, There Was a Shadow invites readers to look up and down, in and out—to notice the position of the sun and the corresponding length or shortness of shadows, as well as the subtle ways in which light and shadow reveal and obscure things both in the world and in ourselves.
With images that swell and overflow with light, this is a picture book that is sure to awe and delight.
Out now for the first time in English:
Gianni Rodari’s THE BOOK OF WHYS!
Italy’s greatest children’s author answers kids’ questions about our world with humor, whimsy, & wisdom
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The Book of Whys was written by the great Italian children’s author Gianni Rodari. From 1955 to 1958, children from all across Italy would write in to his newspaper column to ask him their questions: Why does an elephant have a trunk? Why does a car need fuel? Why are we born? Rodari would then answer these questions with facts, rhymes, and short stories & poems. After all, what better way to engage the mind and foster deeper exploration & thinking… than with imagination & play?
Translated with verve & flair from Italian by Antony Shugaar, The Book of Whys is now available in English for the very first time. And that’s not all—our edition also includes dazzling illustrations by the amazing JooHee Yoon!
We hope you enjoy this wonderful book, which is as whimsical as it is informative. Happy reading! 🧡
