Lily the Elf: The Elf Flute

Lily the Elf: The Elf Flute by Anna Branford, illustrated by Lisa Coutts (Walker Books)

PB RRP $ 7.95

ISBN 9781925081077

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

The third book from the Lily the Elf series finds Lily with a new dilemma. Lily is practicing her poem that she plans to read the following day at the Grand Elf Concert.

The mail bee arrives with a surprise for Lily from Aunt Daisy. It is a beautiful silver flute. The idea of the poem at the concert disappears and the flute is what Lily wants to play instead. How hard can it be?

She tries it standing up, sitting down, lying on her bed, dangling from the bed, but whiffling is all she gets. She goes outside in the open air. She practises in the breeze, standing on a toadstool, but it is harder than she imagined. But Granny can play it and so can Dad.

Lily comes up with a brilliant idea. Can she pull it off?

Lily is a clever and adaptable elf. She finds alternate ways of doing things. She is rarely defeated although she becomes despondent when she fails but is able to quickly pick herself up by problem-solving. Children can relate to Lily. There is always something to learn in each book, and the emotions and moods displayed by the little elf are things young children experience frequently. The series is ideal for 5 year olds or beginners, with its large writing, short sentences, brief chapters and delightful illustrations which accompany the moods and emotions being experienced by Lily.