Tilly in a Tangle

By Magrete Lamond & Monty Lee

Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran

Magrete Lamond is a multi-award-winning author and children’s book publisher. Lamond’s picture book, Paper-flower Girl, was shortlisted in the 2024 Children’s Book Council of Australia awards and was awarded Honour Book in the Picture Book category. Monty Lee is a Brisbane based artist who creates quirky, playful illustrations through print making, painting and drawing.

Tilly in a Tangle is a story about taking charge of situations by trusting your own instincts. Tilly has a wonderful boat which she carefully and capably steers through a fantastical landscape brought to life by Lee’s exquisite colours and Lamond’s sublime text. Tilly’s friends Frog and Duck are concerned how she runs her ship and chip in with urgent advice, which Tilly heeds and before long she is in a terrible tangle. The tension builds as Frog and Duck keep pressing with their frantic guidance. They more Tilly tries to fix things according to her friends’ advice, the more tightly wound her tangle becomes, until they are all entwined up in a mess that looks beyond repair.

Amid the continuing insults on her navigating, Tilly remembers that she knows what to do and seizes control of the situation. Once unravelled, Tilly steers her ship with her own instincts and renewed confidence. Frog and Duck have learned to ride with Tilly and be better companions too.

Lamond’s assured story telling bounces along and is perfectly paced. The language is playful, and wonderful assonance makes for a fun read aloud experience. Lee uses watercolour, oil crayons, colouring pencils and digital collage in a lovely colour palette of greens, blues, cream and pops of orange and red to create a whimsical world for Tilly and her friends.

There is so much to take in from Tilly in a Tangle that children and their adults are sure to enjoy multiple reads of this visual treat with a valuable message.

Dirt Lane Press  2024

Magrete Lamond

Monty Lee