When Leo opens his birthday presents, he receives an amazing gift: a pen! Inside it, Papa says, are many beautiful things. But how do you get them out? None of his friends can guess. Super-
When Leo opens his birthday presents, he receives an amazing gift: a pen! Inside it, Papa says, are many beautiful things. But how do you get them out? None of his friends can guess. Super-Zombo doesn’t get anywhere by blowing on it, and Coco-Tembo thinks it’s too tiny to hold anything important. Maybe Leo’s mama will know how to reveal all the wonders inside…
This warm, charming story is a perfect introduction to the joy of writing. Like Leo, young readers will discover how a simple utensil can express all the words in the world—even one’s own name.
Alain Serge Dzotap is a children’s author, poet, and literacy advocate. His books have received the Saint-Exupéry Valeurs Jeunesse Prize and have been included in the International Youth Library’s White Ravens catalog. He lives in Cameroon, where he has been awarded the country’s medal of knight of the order of merit.
The Gift is his first book published in English.
Delphine Renon is a French illustrator, ceramicist, and graphic designer. Her books include
The Quiet Crocodile (Princeton Architectural) and
Emmett and Caleb (Book Island), which was nominated for the 2020 Kate Greenaway Medal. Visit Delphine’s website at
delphinerenon.blogspot.fr or follow her on Instagram @delphinerenon.
View Biographical note
