Leila and the Voice - by Shahrzad Maydani (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A modern fable about a young girl who embarks on a journey to overcome fear and meets a supernatural creature along the way, for readers of What the Road Said and Where the Wild Things Are.

When the angry cloud comes... Leila runs. The cloud grows and grows, and Leila walks deeper and deeper into its depths. Then she hears a voice. Underneath all the cloudiness is a spot of light. Leila works to dig the Voice out bit by bit, until she has a companion to walk with.

Whether drawing them a map for when they get lost or creating a net for when they fall, Leila's finally able to soar with the Voice into a world of technicolor light. But will it be enough for them to complete their voyage home?

Leila and the Voice is a picture book about the journeys we start, the fear we face, and the courage we grow into as we learn that we've had what we needed all along to face what scares us.

Review Quotes

Praise for Leila and the Voice by Shahrzad Maydani:

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Big Picture of the Month (June 2025)

★ "A brilliant and deeply compassionate offering ... Maydani's use of different mediums work in concert to lend an epic feeling to Leila's journey. Scratchboard illustrations etch the menacing monsters with swirls and designs that cover their bodies, like great creatures of myth. ... Children wrestling with big feelings will be delighted by Leila's wondrous adventure."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Via immersive artwork and emotive prose, Maydani explores what it takes to be resilient in the face of big emotions. ... Bold scratchboard etchings, combined with chalk, pastel, and watercolor, throb with a vibrant coloring ... resonates with emotional depth."
--Publishers Weekly

"A story of finding inner courage in the face of fear ... stunning."
--Booklist

About the Author

Shahrzad Maydani is an award-winning illustrator of Iranian English descent. Her debut children's book, Poetree, written by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds, received the Crystal Kite Award and was selected for the Spring 2019 Kids Indie Next List. Her following book, Bird Boy, written by Matthew Burgess, was a Junior Library Guild selection; and Francis Discovers Possible, written by Ashlee Latimer, was named one of the Best Children's Books of the Year by Banks Street College of Education.