CLARICE BEAN — SMILE

NOMINATED FOR A CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR ILLUSTRATION 2025.AS SEEN ON MILKSHAKE'S STORY DEN IN MARCH 2025!Everybody knew that a big fierce troll lived in the cave. Only one child cannot turn their back on the troll. One day he draws a flower with every petal coloured in but one and leaves the chalk outside the cave. The next day the flower has been completed. Day-by-day the boy and the troll finish each other's drawings until they one shows a boy holding hands with a fierce scary troll. But you're not a troll says the boy. You're a boy - just like me. Patience kindness and the power of art win out in the end: the two boys wordlessly draw together. Soon everyone joins in and forgets that there was ever a troll inside the cave.This touching story delicately embodies the philosophy of art therapy in the face of isolation and difficult emotions. From the creative duo behind A Shelter for Sadness award-winning artist David Litchfield's illustrations are a joyful celebration of pavement art which is sure to have little ones reaching for their own chalks.