Belgium (French)
103
Nève, François-Xavier (text)
Charly, Isabelle (illus.)
Le gros monsieur de mauvaise humeur (The bad-tempered fat man)
Bruxelles : Alice Jeunesse, 2003. – [28] p.
(Histoires comme ça)
ISBN 2-930182-88-1
Bad mood – Violence – Compassion
Just as the extremely large man leaves his house in a foul mood, a dog pees
against the wall. With one furious kick, grumpy fatso sends the dog flying
high into the sky. The dog owner lets out a piercing shriek, and since the man
hates shrieking, he gives the lady a good kick, too. A policeman observing
this blows his whistle, but old grumpy hates whistling... The vicious circle
of violence is eventually broken, though not by the military troupes sent by
the alarmed king but rather by the dog biting the fat man in his bottom. The
humorous illustrations successfully stage this funny little comedy and tell us
a story in which violence is not repaid with violence and the loser is not met
with revenge but compassion. (4+)
104
Norac, Carl (text)
Cneut, Carll (illus.)
Un secret pour grandir : un conte (The secret for growing)
Paris/Bruxelles : École des Loisirs, 2003. – 32 p.
(Pastel)
ISBN 2-211-06651-8
Height – Journey
With this picture book, readers embark on a journey to the Orient and meet
Salam, a boy who is so small that people predict he will be blown away by the
wind one day. Hurt by such comments, Salam decides to go searching for the
secret of growth and soon leaves the town for the first time carrying a huge
empty sack on his back. A wind rises and carries him across trees, hills, and
snow-covered mountains. His sack, in which he collects an odd medley of
objects, grows heavier and heavier. In the pictures, the tiny figure of Salam
forms a stark contrast to the huge adult figures who are partly dressed in
black, partly adorned with clothes in Oriental patterns. By the end of his
journey through desert skies, the boy has definitely grown – not physically
but mentally. (5+)
105
Terral, Anne (text)
Gibert, Bruno (illus.)
Grain de riz (A grain of rice)
[Tournai] : Casterman, 2003. – [26] p.
(Les Albums Duculot)
ISBN 2-203-56519-5
Illness – Sadness – Height
Who hasn’t felt small and pitiable at times of illness? This picture book
describes exactly this situation with all the sadness and misery of a sick
little girl. Feeling absolutely depressed, the first-person narrator crosses
the boundaries of reality and imagines herself to be terribly tiny: Her mother
would cry and desperately search for her everywhere while her father would
call the police. And what if a hungry hen pecked at her with its beak? Would
her mother, once she had rediscovered her minute daughter, be able to hug her
at all? The simplicity of the verse text and the lightness of the
pastel-coloured illustrations prevent the girl’s fears from becoming too
overwhelming and already hint at the relief brought about by the happy ending.
(4+)