Lili Macaroni

by Nicole Testa, Annie Boulanger (Illustrator)

An award-winning picture book about resilience, self-esteem, and the power of talking about emotions Lili Macaroni loves drawing butterflies, counting the stars, and being exactly who she is―Lili Macaroni. That is, until she starts kindergarten. There her classmates tell her that her hair is like a pumpkin, her eyes are squinty blueberries, and her laugh is like a parrot’s squawk. She has never felt such unhappiness before. It makes her want to erase herself and draw a brand-new Lili. Then she reconsiders. Does she really want to erase her hair that’s just like Mom’s? Her eyes just like Grandma’s? Her Grandpa’s infectious laugh? With her parents’ help, she creates a polka-dotted butterfly to wear at her collar, publicly announcing her own resilience and symbolically letting her sorrows be flown away. And when she explains the butterfly to her classmates, Lili discovers she has begun a powerful conversation, and that everyone has some trouble to be carried away on butterfly wings. In this accessible exploration of emotions and self-esteem, Nicole Testa and Annie Boulanger create a relatable heroine with inborn ingenuity and warm family support.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Self Esteem, Childrens, Fiction, Emotion

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2019

Reviews

[Wendy Bamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant anti-bullying story, and a lovely gentle story to read aloud because Lily Macaroni is a nice name to say out loud! Children 5-8 loved it and it created good discussion around the feelings the teasing children had when they realised they were the cause of the little girl’s sadness. Referring to the attributes she got from different members of her family was very moving, we all got our own from someone down the line and it’s good to remember that.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lili has her mother's red hair, her dad's freckles, her grandma's blue eyes, and her grandpa's magical laugh and she loves to draw polka-dot butterflies. She is the way she is and she's happy with that. But when she goes to school, the kids begin to make fun of her. They call her Lili Macaroni-and-cheese, and say that her hair makes her look like a pumpkin, that her eyes look like squinty blueberries, they call her freckles spots, and tell her that she laughs like a parrot. As the kids tease her, Lili stops playing and wonders why "Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa tell [her] that it wasn't good to be Lili Macaroni?" Lili thinks maybe she can change, but she is who she is. As a reminder, she draws a polka-dot butterfly and puts it on her shoulder. The next day at school, Lili explains to the class why the butterfly is there. On Monday, everyone, even her teacher, is wearing a butterfly and no one calls her Lili Macaroni-and-cheese again. She is the way she is and she's happy with that, again. This is an interesting book. The kids in Lili's class aren't so much bullying her as they are teasing, and as good natured as they may think it is, teasing can hurt as much as bullying. The fact that Lili finds an open and honest way of dealing with the teasing makes this a book every school child could benefit from. It takes a lot of courage to stand in front of a classroom full of kids and let them know that the things they are saying to her are hurtful. Boulanger's colorful illustrations capture Lili's feelings - happy and sad - so beautifully, making this a totally accessible book for young readers, both the teased and the teasers, and, actually, for everyone else.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good look at the toll teasing and bullying can take on a child's self-esteem. Originally published in French.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has a really solid message about bullying and how children react to it, but it feels overly didactic and the resolution comes so quickly I'm not sure it feels realistic.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup appris de cet album. J'ai appris, avant toute chose, que notre estime de soi est tout ce qui compte dans la vie. J'ai appris à ne pas avoir peur des commentaires désobligeants des autres. J'ai appris à apprécier toutes les petites choses de notre quotidien, et ça, grâce à une petite fille, et à son douloureux récit pour reconquérir sa confiance en elle. Son histoire, nous l'avons à peu près tous vécus à l'école, et ce que cet album nous propose de faire, c'est d'y faire face, et de trouver des alternatives pour apaiser notre peine qui, au bout du compte, fait de nous des êtres humains...
Un album à absolument faire découvrir aux enfants du primaire pour leur apprendre à s'accepter tel qu'ils sont, tel qu'ils veulent être!

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! It talked about heartaches and how this little girl overcame them. I love butterflies too!

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good upper-level picture book. At first it seems wordy but it's a good fit for the age group that is likely to be having the types of problems/feelings that Lili Macaroni experiences. This book helps to confront name calling and other bullying in a nice way without being too preachy and offers a hands on way for students to express their feelings.
If I had a classroom I think I'd read this book and have butterfly pins for kids to quietly show they needed people to be a little extra careful with them that day?

[Ersa S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! This is a wonderful story about learning about heartache, standing up for yourself, and loving everything that makes you uniquely you!

I won't lie, this story brought more than a few tears to my eyes as I read the pages and saw our main character, Lili, loose more and more of herself across the illustrations. It was very great visual aid to young eyes to see the colors fly away from Lili as her heartache became more and more intense and how the color returned once she reclaimed the love for herself.

I also loved the message the story brings with the spotted butterflies and how they can help lift away heartache from our shoulders.

I will be adding this to a storytime for my kiddos very soon and make preparations for us to make our very own polka-dotted butterflies.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lili has her mother's hair and her father's freckles and her family's name, but when she gets to school, she realizes that there's something wrong with being herself, so she ends up full of sad feelings. Finally, she tells her mom and her teacher, and they help her create unusual butterflies that can help carry her sad feelings away.

It's a sad truth that no matter what, we can't always get people to stop teasing us. I'd love to see more solutions for being confident, but sometimes just acknowledging feelings and giving them space is a good step. This book deals with some really disappointing situations, but in the end, it makes a fair point.

[Books And Hooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and well intentioned but the author could have done more to express that being different is good and that bullying is not okay.

My son (5) liked the illustrations and was emotionally connected with Lili and her heartache. After reading this book we had a conversation about how it is not kind to make fun of others or tease them for their differences. I wish the book did a better job of making that point rather than just offering a coping mechanism. Which was lovely but just didn’t feel like enough.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lili Macaroni loves her hair, her eyes, her freckly nose and everything about herself.
However, her new school friends make fun of everything she loves and she decides she doesn't like those things anymore. Lili Macaroni decides she is beautiful the way she is and comes up with a plan to fly the heartache away.

Lesson of Bullying

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lili Macaroni has red hair, like her mother, blue eyes like her grandmother and her father's freckles. When she is teased for every aspect she draws a girl names Sophia who has straight black hair and dark brown eyes. But then she realizes that it might make her family sad if she didn't have her pieces from her family members. She chooses to be herself.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My library just got the English version in. I was holding back tears. We all have heartaches - even adults should make polka-dot butterflies to fly the heartaches away. LOVED IT and I will be sharing this in story time and with my kids!

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book about bullying. The butterfly is a good start and there are a few more suggestions to combat bullying. This would be a PERFECT book to read on the first day of school to establish the classroom as a bully free zone.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lili is so proud of who she is and the traits she has that belong to differnt memebers of her family until she goes to school where she is picked on for these traits. Can she find her inner strength. Elementary and up

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the concept of this book on what the butterfly represents in the story. It is so great to see art being expressed and showing children that art can be healing when things are tough or when others are being mean. The illustrations are awesome and the story is great.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish there had been a level of ownership/ a bit more restorative practices in this one, but I do love parts of it!

[Y.Poston]

Beautiful story &
gorgeous illustrations
LOVE the encouragement!

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

About finding ways to be yourself no matter how others make you feel. Coping and sharing feelings.

[Allie Outhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations paired with too much text.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty cute

[Joy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story to be read for first grade, that can be followed up with a butterfly craft.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book to introduce mirror and window books. It has good lesson about not teasing, loving yourself, and speaking out when someone hurts your feelings.

[Marjolaine Giroux · Rating 5 out of 5]

À lire avec nos enfants 🫶🏻✨ mettre de l’avant leur unicité et ce, même si cela sort des conventions ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[René · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une magnifique histoire - j’en ai versé des larmes…

[Rebecca Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story. At first, it reminded me of Chrysanthemum by Henkes, but I loved the unique language like her name (Macaroni), eyes that are "blueberry-blue," and friends' names like Fatou. It's a story about going to school, being teased, and rising above it. I loved how she used butterflies (after learning about them in school) to draw strength and take a stand. I loved how the next day at school (after being bullied), she told the entire class why she was sad and wearing a butterfly. She used her voice to call out mistreatment that invoked change.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This English version of a picture book published in French in 2017 would have certainly made me feel better about my own differences when I was growing up. It might help other youngsters like Lili come to self-acceptance while offering suggestions for how to deal with whatever bothers them. Like Lili, I have red hair, something of which I was proud until my first day of school when some older boys on the school bus made fun of my hair and told me to turn it down. I had never felt embarrassed by my hair before. Lili loves her own unique looks as parts of her come from her mother, her father, her grandmother, and her grandfather. Lili is excited to begin school, especially after her father tells her all the things that she will learn there. Lili makes friends quickly and settles into the routine of school, but to her surprise, her friends tease her about her name, her hair, her freckles, her eyes, and even her laugh. I liked the repetitive language used to show her reaction to this teasing. Lili starts to withdraw and wonders about what life might be like if she didn't have these features. Ultimately, she decides that rejecting these parts of her would be like rejecting her family, something she clearly doesn't want to do. She follows her father's suggestion to draw a butterfly, which will then help her feel better as it flies away with her heartache. Lili is fortunate to have an understanding teacher in Mrs. Tamara, who hugs her when she shares her feelings and her polka-dotted butterfly. Her classmates feel guilty about what they've done, and they come back to class after the weekend with their own butterflies. I appreciated this positive solution to a problem, and while Lili's classmates don't ever actually apologize for their teasing, it's clear that they have learned from their mistakes and won't do that sort of thing again. the idea of "flying the sad away" (unpaged) is an appealing idea. This picture book with its butterfly-filled illustrations is perfect for sharing with students on the first day of class or as part of a series of lessons on bullying, teasing or empathy. Many youngsters choose to change parts of themselves in order to fit in, but as Lili demonstrates here, that isn't the best solution since everyone is unique and should be encouraged to celebrate the characteristics and features that make them special.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book about a little girl who carries many unique traits of different family members. When she goes to school, she gets teased about these traits.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustration and the message of being true to yourself. Lili knows who she is and what she likes, until she goes to school, where she is teased for those traits that her family loves and that make her unique. Her symbol is a butterfly. After this book, Lexi wanted to make butterflies.

[Jeri Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry. That is how I know a picture book is a good one. This is a great one for starting school. And being teased for having red hair! (Not that I have any first hand experience with that one. ) It has a great coping mechanism for being upset - make paper butterflies! Also, Lili tells the teacher and the class what is bothering her. Advocating for ourselves is a great lesson.