Sunday 29 April 2012

Picture book review : The Goblin and the Girl - Neil Irani



The Goblin and the Girl is an interesting story that deals with an unusual theme in children's books – self-esteem issues. The perfectly ordinary little girl of the tale sees a horrible goblin every time she looks in the mirror so she hides herself away behind a big hat at school. When the wind blows her hat away, she panics and runs into the forest to hide away from the other children. But a little boy finds her, starts talking to her and shares his umbrella with her. Through the magical power of friendship and kindness, the goblin in the mirror disappears and the little girl sees herself as the beautiful girl she really is.




The story reads very much as a fairy story, with the sad little girl getting lost in the forest and the total absence of adults. The retro-style illustrations, heavily reliant on reddish-brown and green tones, reinforce this olde-worlde feel and give the story a timeless quality.


All children will enjoy listening to the feel-good story - young readers will take it at face value and belive it really is a magical tale of goblins and enchanted mirrors - but it will be particularly empowering for anyone with self esteem or body image issues.


Star rating : 4/5

RRP : £6.99
  • Paperback: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Smallfish Books (31 Jan 2011)
  • ISBN-10: 0956143091
  • ISBN-13: 978-0956143099
  • Product Dimensions: 29.7 x 20.2 x 0.3 cm



Disclosure : I received a free review copy of the book.

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