Tilly in a Tangle by Margrete Lamond and Monty Lee

Title: Tilly in a Tangle

Author: Margrete Lamond and Monty Lee

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Dirt Lane Press/West Words

Published: 11^th November 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $26.95

Synopsis: When things go wrong, following our instinct yields unexpected results.

Tilly works hard at keeping her boat shipshape, striving to retain the approval of those around her, following their advice and conforming to their opinions. But when disaster strikes, and her friends are called to act instead of administering advice, Tilly discovers her own way of doing things works best – for both her and her friends.

~*~

Tilly loves her boat, and is always tinkering with it, making sure it is shipshape and ready to sail. She also wants to get the approval of those around her. But, everyone is always pointing out the problems, and Tilly is quick to fix them. She takes on their opinions, and does all her own work…until the day disaster strikes – and Tilly finally needs their help instead of the constant advice.

And yet, her friends don’t seem to help, so Tilly finds the courage to do things her own way to make her boat sail again and get out of the tangle, to make things work for her and her friends.

This new book from Dirt Lane Press and WestWords is a wonderful story about a little girl called Tilly who is inventive and clever, and determined to solve the problems at hand. This is a story about inventiveness and working together, and what it means when we try to take advice from well-meaning friends. Tilly’s world discusses what it means to be asked for help, and what failure to help can lead to.

I enjoyed Tilly’s determination in this book amidst friends who shouted advice and ended up getting tangled with everyone, because it led to something that nobody could have imagined. Whilst Tilly doesn’t speak in this book, and is rather, spoken to by her animal friends who just enjoy giving her advice, rather than helping, she is the central character. She acts, she does everything rather than sitting on the sidelines. She’s a quiet, yet active character in this story, whose quiet determination shows readers that if they set their mind to something, they can do anything. Or, that sometimes, the best results happen accidentally and come about when we’re not expecting it.

This is a lovely book that reassures children that they can solve problems, even when people think they can’t or think they can do better.