Gigi and the Paris Puzzle by Nicole Levin

  

Jojo has a project to research and give a presentation to her class about the city of Paris. She is very nervous to stand up and speak. Through her research, she becomes intrigued and dreams of visiting Paris - the antithesis of the small town where she lives.

One day, while playing with her Eiffel Tower snow globe, she finds herself transported back to Paris of the 1920s. She is renamed ‘Gigi’ and gets to live in the plush apartment of her dreams, where the furniture and kitchen equipment have a life of their own. Fifi, the French poodle, becomes her dog, and she meets a mysterious boy named Jean Pierre.

While visiting the Rodin Museum with Jean Pierre, the sculpture of The Girl with The Flower Hat challenges Gigi to free her. An amateur sorcerer accidentally turned her into a sculpture while entertaining guests at the opening of the museum. The Girl in the Flower Hat sets Gigi a five-day task to solve a series of interconnected puzzles that will free her. If Gigi fails, she too will be turned into stone.

Gigi and her accomplices (Fifi, Jean Pierre, her new friend Francine and a doll named Amelie) embark on a frenetic journey around different landmarks in Paris. Through finding the hidden clues and solving each step of the puzzle, Gigi finds her confidence, learns to trust in her abilities and discovers her compassion for the trapped girl.

Finally, Gigi and her friends succeed in solving the puzzle and the statue of The Girl with the Flower Hat explodes and leaves the real life girl, Fleur, in the middle of the museum floor. Fleur leaves the museum with the children and moves into Gigi’s apartment.

When her task is over, Gigi has to return home to her family, leaving behind her new friends. Fifi comes home with Gigi and delights her younger brothers. No one in her family knows where she has been, and the reader is left wondering if her visit to Paris was actually real. Gigi gives a spectacular and confident presentation about her adventures in Paris to her class.

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I am an Australian/South African children’s writer, currently living in Cape Town, South Africa with my husband, two children and two cats.

As a writer, I am inspired to capture the world through the eyes of a child. I have written and published six picture books. Four of my books tackle philosophical questions from the perspective of a young child. I have also published many educational readers for primary and middle school children. My writing spans different genres: picture books, fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, poetry and plays. My books are published in South Africa with publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Shuter & Shooters and Imbizo Education. In addition to my published work, I develop learning materials for teachers and work as a freelance Drama and English teacher. Please see my full publication list below.

Educationally, I have a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia, an Honours Degree in Drama and Performers Diploma in Speech and Drama from the University of Cape Town, and a Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Inlingua Language School, Cape Town.

I was compensated via Fiverr.com to share this post. I only share those books that I feel would be of interest to my readers.