The Girl and the Lock on Her Heart - Lauren Lee

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AUTHOR: Lauren Lee

GENRE: Children's Picture Book
RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A good story with a good lesson as well. But I am not sure about one particular word choice.

A girl is born with a lock on her heart. She has no family or friends. (No reason provided for this.) She finds solace with her teddy bear, her cat and music, but the lock remains without a key. In desperation, she sets off from home and asks those she meets on the way for a solution. Many people give many ideas and she tries them all out. But the key doesn’t appear. Finally, a boy appears in her dreams and he helps her understand that she can’t be searching for love outside. She first has to love herself.

At its essence, the message is beautiful. Children are told to love and accept others, but hardly anyone reminds them that self-love is as important. The intention of this book thus is excellent and the moral is one that I would for all children (and parents) to understand.

The girl is said to have no family, but the reason for this is never specified. This makes the story a viable option for any child who is orphaned or fostered. However, the need for self-love exists even in children who have parents, so the book should work for all kids.

That said, there is one thing in the content I am not comfortable with. As the girl seeks those who give her love, she is said to meet three “lovers” who shower her with kisses, hugs and flowers. As the girl was said to be playing with her teddy bear at the start, I presumed she was a little girl. So the inclusion of the lovers idea is weird. On the other hand, if she is old enough to have lovers, why is this a children’s picture book? This spoiled what could have been a perfect story.

The book is written in simple text, with not more than a few lines per page. The vocabulary, except for the “lovers” idea, is quite suitable for the official target age range of 3-10 years.

The illustrations are the best part of the book. The blend of water colours and colour pencils is gorgeous to look at. Each sketch seems like it is glowing.

Overall, I did like the book as lot, and were it not for that one word that bugged me, I’d have given this a strong recommendation. So I’ll just leave this review as is, with all relevant information, and leave to you the decision of whether you want it for your child or not.

My thanks to author Lauren Lee and BookSirens for the DRC of “The Girl and the Lock on Her Heart”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The book is available on Kindle Unlimited.

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