LIFT; Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat

An up-lifting book in every sense of the word from the author/illustrator duo that created Drawn Together.

Iris lives in an apartment block with her mum, dad and younger brother. She loves taking the lift as she gets to do her favourite and most important job…push the lift button. Up and down, up and down, up and down. Then one day the worst thing happens, someone else pushes the button.

The next day, Iris is so angry that she pushes all the buttons in the lift which results in disaster as the lift breaks. But sometimes opportunities come from the disasters. And when the repair man throws the broken lift button into the bin, Iris knows exactly what she can do with it…

This is a wonderful book that is all about the power of one young girl’s imagination and creativity. Iris’ anger at someone else doing her ‘job’ is totally believable and relatable, as is her action of taking the broken lift button out of the trash. Whilst one lift is broken and the door has been closed, this is actually just the beginning for Iris as she fixes the lift button to her bedroom wall and opens up a whole new world of possibilities and creates a lift that can take her anywhere.

Iris uses her new lift to escape the anger and frustration that she feels at various points within the narrative and heads off to the far off lands of the jungle and outer space, returning as a changed character. There is a lovely moment at the end of the read when she is able to forgive her bother for his earlier betrayal, yes he was the one who stole her job, and they stand together - hand-in-hand - ready to enter Iris’ lift and world of imagination.

Illustrated like a graphic novel, the mix of full page images and image strips are set inside striking black borders. The imaginative Iris stands out in most of the images with her unmistakable eyes and a face full of expression. The three double page spreads that see Iris in new lands are dazzling.

This book will LIFT you up to new places and certainly pushes all of the right buttons as one young girl’s imagination and creativity sparkles in a wonderfully illustrated read. Where would your lift take you?

Recommended for 7+.