Leina and the Lord of the Toadstools - Myriam Dahman & Nicolas Digard

This is a wonderfully illustrated, richly atmospheric book about gratitude and forgiveness.

Leina owns the only boat in town – she ferries townsfolk over to the forest where they chop trees and hunt animals. But everyone in the town fears the forest and not everyone who goes in comes back out again…

When Leina’s friend, Oren, doesn’t return, she goes on a mission to find him. In the forest she meets the mysterious Mr Spadefoot who introduces himself as The Lord of the Toadstools.

Mr Spadefoot is strange and magical and Leina suspects that he knows where she can find Oren. She accepts his invitation for dinner in his underground palace and there she discovers the secret of the forest and the mystery of the missing townsfolk.