Tag Archives: Picture Book

Le livre où la poule meurt à la fin

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cover of Le livre ou la poule meurt a la fin, par Francois Blais, illustree par Valerie BoivinThrow away all your preconceptions of what picture books for children should look like or what trajectory they should follow, because you’re in for a real treat! This title had me laughing out loud the further into the story I got, at first with a chuckle at the premise that Catherine should spend whatever she likes because she won’t be around long enough to have to deal with the debts she incurs from her irresponsible spending habits – she has a point – and then as we made our way along the story, irrepressible laughter at Catherine’s unflappable practicality and unapologetic personality. I was reminded of Ariana Grande’s 7 rings throughout the entire book, in the best of ways.

I happened upon this title recently and absolutely adored it (I was tempted to rip off a coworker’s Staff Pick sticker so I could put my own on it), for reasons I’m sure are obvious just looking at the cover: Le livre où la poule meurt à la fin by François Blais, illustrated by Valérie Boivin. I agree with this reviewer that the complete irreverence of the entire book towards the topic of death (normally treated as a taboo topic, though do take a look at how other authors have treated death in picture books) is actually quite refreshing, especially what with the bright colours used throughout and the flippant, very tongue-in-cheekily practical attitude Catherine – the chicken – herself has towards her fate.

Hilarious through and through, this alternate perspective on death and what one can do with the knowledge of our own impending doom is a complete delight. And if you’re into unexpected twists (it’s almost like a right-angle Freytag triangle of plot structure), you might also enjoy another book by the same author in the same grimace series: 752 lapins, same author & illustrator duo. There’s also this other review of both of these titles that I enjoyed especially for their discussion suggestions with the child if you’re reading to one.

Keep reading for more (slightly less audacious) French picture books!

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Black History Month: Children’s Books

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Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon JamesFebruary is Black History Month and I really want to start this off with a picture book I absolutely adore: Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick D. Barnes, illustrated by James C. Gordon. This is a celebration of barbershop culture like nothing I’ve seen before, and absolutely blew me away! The illustrations & rhythm of the whole book were amazing, and it’s definitely meant to be read aloud. Barnes follows the young boy’s journey into the barbershop, where he becomes royalty, coming out of that shop with confidence in his step: “A fresh cut makes boys fly“.

I’m reminded of Barbershop Books (only in the U.S. right now, and I don’t know of anything like that in Canada, though there are also independent barbershops that have been inspired by Barbershop Books to encourage kids to read more, which is wonderful and also adorable), which I find a great initiative.

 

When I think of Black History Month recommended reads lists, what comes to mind are lists of books about:

  1. Slavery, and
  2. Civil Rights.
  3. I feel like that’s kind of the scope.

So I wanted to start us off first with children’s books that celebrate Black heritage by respecting Black people’s representation in books in all as full and diverse a range of possibilities as we see for white protagonists.

The first time I started thinking more about the scope of representation of Black protagonists in children’s books was when I first happened across an article in The Horn Book magazine that talked about how so many books targeted at Black kids were specifically on the topic of slavery & civil rights – which are important topics to talk about, given the continuing struggle against racism – and how it was fairly difficult to find books featuring Black protagonists just doing their thing and existing in a children’s book without the book overtly talking about racism. (I’m miffed that I can’t find the original article, but that was what I got out of it. ) So while some of these books are going to talk about race and slavery and civil rights, what I’m hoping for is that these books are also just going to be about the characters and what they’re doing in their lives.

So take a look below the cut for more!

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Grrrr… I’m Mad/Sad in Here

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Does it ever feel like there’s a constant pressure on to be happy and to only ever experience positive emotions? (Nevermind the fact that we divide up the emotions between positive & negative, thereby already biasing them to be thought of as either good or bad for you.)

Suzanne LangWell here are some picture books that talk about (negative) emotions and acknowledge them as being part and parcel of being human (… strictly speaking, animal, since when they feature, the humans involved are not the ones experiencing the negative emotions). Some of them discuss how it’s perfectly OK to be experiencing these ups and downs, whereas others highlight what emotions such as fear and jealousy (or in this particular case, the selfish personality of the giraffe) hold you back from the possibility of experiencing things you could never have previously imagined.

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang, illustrated by Max Lang, is great at portraying how sometimes our grumpiness can seem completely illogical: there’s nothing to be grumpy about, but you know what? We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed some days, and that’s alright! Having your friends there to be there for you, even if what they’re doing isn’t cheering you up per se, can be a boon to your emotional state. Grumpy Monkey yells at his friends, denying his grumpiness, but it’s when he actually accepts that yes, he just might be grumpy, and yes, his friends do still love & care for him, that he starts to feel a bit better.

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