Lili Macaroni (Paperback or Softback)

An award-winning picture book about resilience, self-esteem, and the power of talking about emotions

Lili Macaroni loves drawing butterflies, counting the stars, and being exactly who she is―Lili Macaroni. That is, until she starts kindergarten. There her classmates tell her that her hair is like a pumpkin, her eyes are squinty blueberries, and her laugh is like a parrot’s squawk. She has never felt such unhappiness before. It makes her want to erase herself and draw a brand-new Lili. Then she reconsiders. Does she really want to erase her hair that’s just like Mom’s? Her eyes just like Grandma’s? Her Grandpa’s infectious laugh?

With her parents’ help, she creates a polka-dotted butterfly to wear at her collar, publicly announcing her own resilience and symbolically letting her sorrows be flown away. And when she explains the butterfly to her classmates, Lili discovers she has begun a powerful conversation, and that everyone has some trouble to be carried away on butterfly wings.

In this accessible exploration of emotions and self-esteem, Nicole Testa and Annie Boulanger create a relatable heroine with inborn ingenuity and warm family support.

Nicole Testa discovered her enthusiasm for writing when working with second-grade children. Her first novel, The Eye of the Night, was published in 1998. She continues to create children’s stories in French Canada, where she is often inspired by nature.

Annie Boulanger was born in Abitibi, Quebec, where she found her passion for visual art at a young age. Her studies at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue inspired her to expand her creativity into photography and cinema. She is an avid traveler and the mother of two boys.