My Best Friend Tilly Iris Samartzi 9781836270348

One little girl wants to build a magnificent make-believe world for her and her best friend Tilly to explore, full of fire-breathing dragons, snorkelling elephants and intergalactic rollercoasters. But as her dream world becomes bigger and bigger, poor Tilly is pushed entirely out of the picture! Join the two as they rediscover the simple joy of playing together and realise that friendship is the most magical gift of all.

Fuelled by a child's limitless imagination, Iris Samartzi's playful tale whisks readers away on a fantastical adventure where anything is possible, before returning to what matters most: friendship. With a glorious double lift-the-flap spread, this joyful picture book celebrates the transformative power of creativity and the fun you can have with your best friend right beside you.

Iris Samartzi was born in Athens, Greece. She studied Graphic Design and Interior Design & Architecture in Vakalo School, and graduated with a scholarship. She has attended seminars on child painting and drama in painting. She collaborated with Vakalo School as an assistant professor in Scenography courses, Product Design and Architecture Interiors. She has been working as a children's book illustrator since 2004, and has been awarded by the Greek IBBY, the EBGE Design Awards, and the Greek National Book Prize. In 2016 she won the Compostela Prize for picture books for the book El ultimo dia (author: A. Papatheodoulou). She has been nominated twice for the H.C. Andersen Award (2020, 2022) and is also a nominee for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She teaches art to preschool children.