Canada
(French)
168
Adams, Steve (retell./illus.)
Le prince et l’hirondelle (The prince and the swallow)
Saint-Lambert (Québec) : Dominique
et Compagnie, 2006. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-2-89512-523-5
"Statue"Statue – "Prince"Prince – "Swallow"Swallow – "Need"Need – "Poverty"Poverty – "Assistance"Assistance
High above the city on a small pillar stands the golden statue of the Happy
Prince. A swallow on her way south pauses beside the statue and suddenly feels
something wet on its feathers. It is the metal prince who is crying because he
sees how severely the poor people in this city suffer. This picture book is an
adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s famous fairy tale »The Happy Prince«, a touching
tale against »looking away«. Alternating between dark colours and bright
sections in gold and white, the illustrations painted on wood underline the
discrepancy between rich and poor and confirm how essential it is to turn
desolation into hope.
In the end, as a successful compromise for young readers, the swallow seeks
shelter with the little match girl. (6+)
169
Chartrand, Lili (text)
Oddoux, Marie-Pierre (illus.)
Rouge-Babine, vampire détective (Rouge-Babine, the vampire detective)
Montréal (Québec) : Courte Échelle,
2006. – 131 p.
ISBN 2-89021-850-3
(Mon roman; 28: Fantastique)
"Girl"Girl – "Vampire"Vampire – "Detective"Detective – "Murder"Murder – "Investigation"Investigation
Thirteen-year-old Rouge-Babine (Red-Babine) is small and thin with long black hair and dark-grey eyes. What’s so special about that? She is a vampire! Since nothing exciting ever happens in her home town, she dives into the literary adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Yet one day in the forest, she discovers the letter »V« written in ash. It is a trace of the vampire hunter who has been roaming the region for years. Assisted by the witch Belladonna, the three-headed monster Triplax, and her dog Plakett, the vampire girl determinedly starts her investigations. The first volume of the new »Rouge-Babine« series is characterised by its creative mixture of fantastic, gripping, and humorous elements. (9+)
170
Dorion, Hélène (text)
Nadeau, Janice (illus.)
La vie bercée (Life rocked to sleep)
Montréal (Québec) : 400 Coups,
2006. – [48] p.
ISBN 2-89540-280-9
"Life cycle"Life cycle – "Birth"Birth – "Growing up"Growing up – "Family"Family
This picture book consists of a long poem about people’s lives from birth to adulthood. It mentions highs and lows, happiness and sorrow, the moment they start learning to read and to write, or the time of adolescence when they struggle for independence from their parents. »You blow out your dream-candles one by one and thus each dream comes true.« The highly symbolic illustrations (presenting the »thread of life« that also sustains the connection with one’s family; or the »anchored« parents’ house) accompany the readers’ thoughts with soft colours and fragile figures. The cover picture of the father sitting in a rocking chair and rocking the child to sleep already hints at the changing nature of life with its ups and downs, visualised later as swaying houses and rifts within the pictures. (8+)
171
Major, Henriette (text)
Béha, Philippe (illus.)
Jongleries (Juggling)
Montréal (Québec) : Hurtubise HMH,
2006. – [87] p.
ISBN 978-2-89428-865-8
"Language"Language – "Saying"Saying – "Meaning"Meaning – "Game"Game
In every language, there are sayings that people use without analysing their true meaning. What happens if you take them literally? In this book, the author digs up the literal meaning behind numerous figures of speech from areas such as nature, emotions, and everyday objects and turns them into playful, »punny« poems complemented by equally playful, colourful illustrations. A young boy, for example, who visually accompanies a poem about time, tries with a red thread to prevent Time (whose leg protrudes from the collage picture) from running out. To enable readers to get to the bottom of the poems, a glossary explains all the sayings. The humorous and inventive way in which this last book by late Henriette Major questions the use of language in everyday life is completely convincing. (6+)
Special Mention
172
Turgeon, Élaine
Ma vie ne sait pas nager (My life can’t swim)
Montréal (Québec) :
Québec Amérique Jeunesse, 2006. – 126 p.
(Titan jeunesse; 64)
ISBN 2-7644-0467-0
"Twins"Twins
– "Suicide"Suicide – "Grief"Grief – "Depression"Depression
For 15-year-old Lou-Anne, life will never be the same. »There is a before and
an after«, a life before her twin sister drowned herself in the school
swimming pool, and a life afterwards, with the family breaking apart. Maybe
Geneviève didn’t really want to die. Maybe she only wanted to be free from the
»quicksand«, free from the feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness. While the
father tries to avoid his pain as far as possible, the mother buries herself
in it to the brink of a breakdown. In their grief for the dead daughter, the
parents seem to forget about the living one. Lou-Anne falls into a deep dark
hole. She copes with her sorrow by writing about it and escapes her loneliness
by talking to Simon. The author tells about depression and suicide in a
relentless and authentic style close to the life of teenagers. With great
sensibility and depth, the novel also offers hope and courage to all those who
don’t see a way out. (14+)