Mr. Lepron’s MYSTERY SOUP

Would you look at this cover?

I did.

And then I bought the book.

Because not only is it a great story—

IT IS— STUNNING!

Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup is written by Giovanna Zoboli, (translated from Italian by Denise Muir). And my heavens it is magnificently illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio. Let me just gush about the illustrations for a moment. They are classic, watercolor eye candy, rich in expression and detail. Perfectly designed page spreads and intimate vignettes. The clever border treatment on the jacket brings to mind Maxfield Parrish, Jan Brett, and Kate Greenaway, just to name a few.

The story, as well, has a nostalgic fairytale feel to it. Mr. Lepron is a dapper rabbit who each year harvests vegetables from the farmer’s garden. Mr. Lepron’s family adores his soup and Mr. Lepron loves making it. But, as the soup simmers, he begins to dream of becoming famous. More and more famous until his dreams do come true. In fact, there is such demand for his amazing soup, that an enormous factory is built to supply all the fancy shops worldwide who carry the soup (the graphics on the can are spectacular).

But, as Mr. Lepron’s soup reaches more and more people (humans and animals live amongst each other) his happy dreams start to become worrisome and scary. Instead of praise and adoration, they fill up with complaints and criticism. His soup is no longer as good as it used to be. And Mr. Lepron realizes that it is he who has changed, not his soup. Mr. Lepron discovers that making his soup for others has totally consumed him and taken him from his family and the life that he loved. And so, Mr. Lepron’s discovers what he needs to do to get back to his “sweetest and realest of dreams— dreams that make the soup extraordinary.”