A picture book about the nature of fear – how it grows from the inside and spoils one’s life. There are many things that are under our control but sometimes we still need someone’s help and it’s perfectly normal to ask for it.
A little donkey was full of life until he got too scared. His fear turned into a huge troll sitting on the donkey’s neck and always making him feel sleepy. A long time had passed, but the troll was still there, making the donkey unhappy. When autumn came, the smell of ripe fruit attracted the donkey, but he was too fearful and sleepy. In despair, he roared, and the wizard gardener heard this strange sound and came to check upon the donkey. She turned the troll into the seeds of wonderful flowers and the donkey came back to life.
“I wanted to create a story that would sound a bit like an old fairy tale and show the inner workings of the mind. I wanted it to resemble a tapestry – soft and full of flowers, that’s why I used the limited and calm palette” –Varya Iashchenko.
Fears and depression are part of our life, and children face them much more often than
we would like to think.
Helps children and their parents to talk about negative experiences and dark feelings and to look for ways to overcome them – whether it’s a child’s own experience or something they witnessed so they can act like this wizard gardener to help someone else.
Distinctive, ornamental illustrations give the story an old fairy tale vibe.
