Lily in the Loft Review

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From the early 1900s to 2000, a newspaper called The Western Producer included a special section that published the works of kids all over the prairies of Canada. They were members of the Young Co-Operators’ Club, kids who sent in their poems and stories to earn points and badges.

Carol McKay was one of those kids. With fond memories of waiting for the paper to see if her work was published, she decided to write a story about that experience in her book Lily in the Loft.

This paperback picture book features Frances – a young girl who loves to write, especially when sitting in the loft of the barn. She fills up notebooks with her poetry. With encouragement from her aunt, Frances sends in a poem under the pen name “Lily in the Loft.” Each week she eagerly waits for the paper to arrive so she can check if her poem was published. Disappointed that her poem is never printed, so she stops checking. Then one day, her mom gets a letter – a real letter – in the mail.

Before Carol contacted me to see if I’d review her book, I’d never heard of the Western Producer or the Young Cooperators’ Club. She was eager to tell me about it and I found it fascinating. Carol was one of the kids who belonged to the club and would excitedly check the paper each week to see if her writing was in it. She used a pen name, too – like more of the kids. It was “Peppermint Patty.”

As a youngster, I used to write a lot so this story is easy for me to believe – the anticipation and disappointment that it causes to share your works in hopes of someone liking it. Carol’s writing made me invested in Frances’ adventures and hopeful that she’d find her poem in the paper.

The artwork on the pages of this book are presented in a comic book panel style – large boxes of painted illustrations that show life in a farm and the eagerness of young Frances. I have to admit, the image on the cover is one of my favourite from the story. It shows a wonderfully inspiring view that the main character had to give her plenty of ideas for her writing. The artist, Val Moker, has done an excellent job of showcasing expressions. Even young non-readers can figure out how the girl is feeling.

At the end of the book, we get a chance to read Frances’ poem. I think that was a great touch, because without it we’d be wondering what she’d sent in and if it really WAS good enough to include in the paper or not.

I’m pleased to be able to include this picture book in our collection of Canadian stories.

You can find Lily in the Loft at Amazon and Chapters.

Lisa Marie Fletcher
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