No, I won't spoil that for you, the introduction to the twinkle dance of Annie's art.
But I will tell you about her stories.
"I Am Lilly" is the story of a child's seeking a beginning, primitive answer to the question, "Who Am I?" Lilly, our heroine, perfectly expresses a child's longing to have adult abilities beyond the strict limitations of being a child.
This fundamental theme of every small child's life, as we see in Lilly's quest, is written with heart-melting patience and jolly humor.
One can imagine a mother or father reading these pages in seriousness to a giggling, delighted child.
"Of course, I'm not grandpa!"
"Or you, Dad!"
"Or Mom!"
"I'm me!"
If only Lilly's quandary and resolution could be every child's free, undisturbed central focus.
"Penelope's Pearls" is a lyrical verse about feeling afraid and "cold", which all children at times are likely to feel.
The book articulates a child's pain and fear of being unloved, alone, forgotten, abandoned.
Penelope, our heroine, is the smallest penguin in the South Pole. Because Penelope is a penguin, she is supposed to be like all the other penguins who are used to the freezing cold.
Aren't we all supposed to be copies of one another as children?
Don't we all grow up wanting to belong?
Penelope is different from the others. She is constantly freezing, seeking warmth, and dreaming of being in Hawaii.
