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Book cover with an illustraion of a brown girl holding two chickens and a sheep.

The Lost Smile

Dixi Books Publishing

Country: UK

Original title: The lost smile

Original language: English

 

Age group: 5 - 8

Categories: Fiction

Inclusive towards: Gender, migration

 

Author: Nadia L. King 

Illustrator: Nelli Aghekyan

 

Number of pages: 32

Format (in mm): 250 x 250

 

Info on rights holder: Dixi Books Publishing

Rights sold: Not yet released 

Website: www.dixibooks.com

Emailinfo@dixibooks.com

Summary:

When Zaytoon wakes up feeling sad, she goes on a search to find her smile. From the kitchen to the garden, Zaytoon searches high and low, and eventually discovers her smile — it’s smiling at her from her reflection

in the window!  The Lost Smile is beautifully illustrated colourful picture book that demonstrates the importance of accepting our emotions. Zaytoon’s journey shows children it’s okay to be sad and reassures young readers that sadness can be temporary. 

Themes include cultural diversity, emotional intelligence, family life and the importance of connecting with nature and animals.

Illustration of a brown girl, looking at a man who is picking fruit from the top of a tree with the help of a ladder.

Info on the author:

Nadia L. King was born in Dublin, Ireland and now calls Australia home. 

Nadia believes in the power of stories. She believes that stories can change the world for the better. When she was a little girl, Nadia rode an ostrich. When she was older, she rode a camel. One day she hopes to ride an elephant! 

The Lost Smile is Nadia’s third book. Nadia also writes short stories for adults and is currently a postgraduate student in English and Creative Writing. She lives in Western Australia with her family, two tabby cats, a beautiful black Labrador and a vast (and growing) collection of books.

 

Info on the illustrator:

Nelli Aghekyan is an illustrator and a visual story-teller from Yerevan, Armenia. After completing her Masters in Architecture, she followed her dreams and focused on her drawing skills. Since getting her first digital tablet, she's been drawing nonstop. She believes that being a children's book illustrator is really fun and challenging at the same time. Being able to put your vision into a book and be a part of someone's childhood is really inspiring and motivating.

 

Awards and nominations:

Award of Excellence: Communication Arts 

Nadia L. King is the winner of the Stuart Hadow Short Story Prize

 

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