This detailed, colorful picture book tells the story of a village in Thailand where women and young girls paint beautiful umbrellas to sell. Young Noot longs to participate, since every year the artists parade around the village with their umbrellas, and the creator of the best one is named that year's Umbrella Queen.When her mother finally tells her she can begin painting umbrellas, Noot carefully copies the serene flowers and butterflies that her mother and grandmother paint. But soon her imagination takes over and Noot paints whimsical elephants on her umbrellas. Her parents tell her she must stop, as those patterns will not bring any money for the family, so she limits her creativity to small umbrellas that she creates for her own enjoyment.But the king surprises everyone by accepting the village's invitation to be the judge of this year's umbrella contest, and when Noot's little umbrellas in her windowsill catch his eye, he names her the Umbrella Queen.