Liliana the Strong

Liliana is renowned for her incredible superhuman strength but when she catches a cold she takes to her bed and feels suddenly rather weak. To cheer her up her parents remind her of all the things she has done which demonstrate just how strong she is. There follows a series of vignettes demonstrating Liliana’s incredible strength from lifting bulls stuck in the mud and bending iron girders to returning stranded whales to the sea. To encourage her recovery her parents bring her some iron bars which she quickly bends into an amazing garden.

There is a lot of humour in this simple story visualised and brought to life in the detailed illustrations. A gentle message runs through the book that things will get better and to keep on trying even if you are not feeling so good right now.

World renowned illustrator and picturebook maker Quentin Blake provides the words and concept for this book, while Emma Chichester Clark, his former student and now a celebrated illustrator and picturebook maker in her own right, provides the illustrations.