5 Star Review from Readers’ Favorite

Reviewed by Doreen Chombu for Readers’ Favorite

Maddy’s Towers is a children’s picture book written by Inbal Alon with illustrations by Mandira Biswas. It follows Maddy, a young girl who returns home in tears after a sad betrayal. Her best friend, Mei, just revealed Maddy’s secret to everyone. While Maddy’s mother comforts her, Maddy says that she would never trust anyone again. Her mother feels sad about this and tells her that trust is like a tower made up of blocks of love and kindness. The more you treat each other kindly, the more trust grows. Her mother prepares her for the night and leaves her to reflect on her words and to choose whether she wants to destroy the tower of trust she has been building with Mei or continue building. The next day at school, Maddy picks up Mei’s spelling paper and realizes she can either embarrass her by exposing it to the class or give it back to her quietly.

Maddy’s Towers is a heartwarming story about friendship, trust, remorse, and forgiveness. It has one of the best explanations of how one can build trust. The block tower of trust is something that many children can relate to and easily understand. One aspect of the book that I found quite interesting was the dialogue between the characters. It is natural and child-friendly, without being artificial or forced. Inbal Alon really nails that raw, emotional place kids go when they feel hurt, and you can sense Maddy’s struggle—of whether she should try to trust again, or act out because she is upset? The illustrations are full of color and energy, and the characters are all sorts of people from different backgrounds, which is refreshing. There are also some fun activities to try with your kids, plus tips for building trust. If you want a book about trust, sharing how you feel, and making good choices, this one’s a solid pick.