Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, known collectively as the League of Joy, have grown a little weary of providing childhood joy to the world’s children. The emails, the production lines, the waste, and the awkward intimacy of pulling teeth out from under pillows has whittled away at their souls, giving these once-glorified figures of youth a rough, red-eyed appearance.
No better time for an invitation from EZ-LYF Corp inviting them to a brand-new resort off the coast of Sunny Island. There, they’ll learn EZ-LYF Corp.’s proposal for making the provision of joy a little easier through the use of ground-breaking new tools, produced only on Sunny Island. All the League of Joy need do is sign the deal and receive everything for free. The future will be bright and glorious for all—except for the children of Sunny Island, of course.
For two members of the league, the decision is easy. Providing joy hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be and they could use a little rest and relaxation. Only the Easter Bunny stands in the way of making this deal go through, but for all his talk, he might not be the kind of person he thinks he is.
Brave and brutally honest in its composition, The Agreement is acclaimed author Leila Boukarim’s best work to date, showcasing her ability to pull punches in the right directions. At a time when kids books focus more on teaching social-emotional control to children than defying real-world and fictional villains, this is a cautionary tale directed at chicken-hearted caregivers and role models who make peace with the mafia.
Ann Kiernan’s illustrations do so much justice to the work. Spread by spread, hardly a child lies in sight, as if the process of confining children to the bleakest future imaginable began long before the opening of the tale and the presentation of the deal. From the outset, members of the League of Joy resemble an old, washed-up rock band, well past its days of glory but holding on to a stale sense worth and purpose.
The Agreement is emblematic of the cruelty of colonial capture and the pathetic and embarrassing failure of global capitalism to create a meaningful future for all of humanity.
Independently produced, The Agreement can be purchased on Leila’s website.
Thanks for the recommendation. Really looking forward to reading this!
And the children will ask, “why do they have to change?!” This book will spark curiosity and if parents are paying attention they will guide the discussion to our world today. An excellent review, Evangelene! Well done, Leila and Ann!