When Sofia sees shadow-monsters on her wall at night, her parents
dismiss her fears as silly. When she tries to draw her monsters at
school, her teacher tells her to stop wasting paper and draw flowers
instead. Sad and lonely, her heart broken in two, Sofia leaves school
and enters a mysterious world where a Heartmender waits to make her
heart whole again.
Sofia's journey leads her to face her fears until they fade away.
Strengthened by her visit to the compassionate Heartmender, she returns
to the real world, confident that the shadow-monsters are no longer a
threat, ready to speak up for herself to her parents and teachers, and
hopeful that the adults in her life will respect her feelings--because
she respects herself.
In the literary tradition of A Wrinkle in Time and The Chronicles of
Narnia, Sofia and the Heartmender blends fantasy and fiction to show
that anything is possible, even healing a broken heart. Beautifully
written and exquisitely illustrated, this story of a young girl's search
for self-esteem will inspire and delight readers of all ages.
Marie Olofsdotter is an artist, poet, author, and illustrator of
many books for children. Sofia and the Heartmender was honored with a
Mid-America Publishers Award, a Benjamin Franklin Silver Award, and a
Skipping Stones Honor Award, and was selected as a Parents Council Book.
Olofsdotter has been working as a creative consultant and an
artist-in-residence for over fifteen years. A native of Sweden, she
lives near the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
