Loula is Leaving for Africa by Anne Villeneuve

Kids Can Press

 

Most adults and children can relate to the feeling of wanting to run away because nobody is paying attention or seeming to care about them.  That is definitely how Loula feels.  Her three brothers are stinky and mean.  Her mother and father are too busy to take any notice that she is upset.  So she packs life's essentials into her suitcase, and along with her pink cat, her tea set and her best drawing she leaves for Africa - a.k.a. the tree in her front yard.

Sitting in the tree, she comes to the attention of the family chauffeur, Gilbert.  He explains to Loula that he thinks Africa is further away and that she needs to take a boat to get there.  So they set out together to look for Africa. Gilbert drives her to a park where they encounter "giraffes", "chimpanzees", cross a "desert", take a "plane" and a "boat" before they arrive at their destination and admire a beautiful "African" sunset.

 

This story is filled with imagination and the ability to turn the everyday into something special. Author Anne Villeneuve is also the illustrator and her drawings are whimsical and wispy, and convey mood and movement through the skillful use of simple line drawings and colour. 

This is a great book to read with a child who is feeling a little down or left out.  It is a reminder that we all need a form of escapism every now and then, even if we don't all have a caring, enlightened chauffeur to get us to our destination.  We just need someone who will take the time to care and share.

http://www.annevilleneuve.com/