One night, Franca has a dream about a marvelous queen who lives in a dark cave, deep in the forest. She cannot sit still until she knows if her dream is true. So with her younger sisters, Carmela and Tomasina, Franca ventures into the forest at the end of their garden. As they travel deeper through nettles and thickets, drawing closer and closer to the cave, the world shifts, and everything shrinks and expands at the same time. Here, they meet beasts and creatures that shock and delight them, and they escape horrible things that frighten them. They learn to be brave, to be bold, to face their darkest fears. And what of the queen? Well, what they find in the cave is perhaps the most unexpected thing of all . . . In Júlia Sardà's irresistible, mysterious modern fairy tale, each spread is a stunning and wildly imaginative set piece brought to life in sumptuous color and detail.
The UK's best-loved book awards for children & young people, celebrating outstanding writing & illustration; judged by librarians @CILIPInfo. #YotoCarnegies24
The Queen in the Cave has been longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2023, congratulations Julia Sarda! @WalkerBooksUK #YotoCarnegies23 https://t.co/j1A6zifyzg
Here to Entertain, Educate & Inspire! #books #poems #art #games & more Run by Cat Strawberry 🐱🍓 Creator: #Febookary / #BBNYA panelist / #IndieInkAwards judge
A visually stunning and interesting story of three girls searching for a hidden queen! #BookReview: The Queen in the Cave by Júlia Sardà #bookblogger #books #childrensbooks #kidlit #TheQueenInTheCave https://thestrawberrypost.wordpress.com/2021/12/02/book-review-the-queen-in-the-cave-by-julia-sarda/
Sarah Webb is a children's book author.
Two of my favourite illustrators have books out this season - Julia Sarda + Felicita Sala. The Queen in the Cave by Sarda is a wonderfully strange, original story about three sisters. The eldest dreams about a queen in a cave and all three go on an adventure to find this queen. https://t.co/Y6GlJeSKmm
The "wonders [are] infinite" in this surreal early reader. . . . The eye-catching illustrations feature colorful geometric objects, bright and patterned creatures, and big-eyed children whose movements are stiff, goofy, and evocative as they dare to "go where no one has ever gone before!"
--Foreword Reviews
In imagery reminiscent of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Sardà poignantly evokes the moment an eldest sister pursues a way her sisters can't go, a moment of growth and change that's reflected in the flamboyant, stylish disorientation of her illustrations. Appropriately, the book brings picture book and short story together; it's a work on the cusp, as if its very mode connotes transition.
--The Horn Book
A beautifully illustrated longform picture book that explores the unease and bravery that comes with growing up.
--School Library Connection
Mystical and sumptuously illustrated. . .a strange and beautiful story for children ages 5-9.
--The Wall Street Journal