Like a fairy tale
In order to counter the curse cast by the evil Count Krokula on the village of Klopek, the villagers take turns to “beat” him […] with the weapons of [leur] choice “. Charm, strength, intelligence… nothing has worked so far. And no fighter returned from the journey. However, one fine morning, a draw decides the future of Oskar, the local cheesemaker. Thus, armed “almost only with his courage”, he goes up to the castle and meets not the, but the terrible little countess, a mouse. The continuation ofOskar and the Count is a happy mixture of humor, love and gluttony, all up to this delicious and unexpected punch line. Jean-Baptiste Drouot — who we adored in particular with Go get the bread (editions Les 400 coups) — here replays the codes of the traditional tale while retaining the false naivety and striking fatality. The simple and impactful dialogues are echoed in Drouot’s refined illustration, whose fine and delicate line leaves room for the expressiveness of the characters. Famous.
Marie Fradette
Face your fear
It’s night, and Crocus the snake is not sleeping. Well wrapped up under his duvet, he fears monsters, the wolf in the closet, the witch in the trunk, the ghost behind the curtain, in short, everything. A subject staged more than a thousand times, the fear of the dark and the night is revisited in Crocuses and the monsters in a completely truculent way by Sophie Guerrive. Constantly playing with the absurd, the author and illustrator manages to depict the daily lives of toddlers in a completely unusual way, leading the reader by the nose until this priceless finale. Crocus, character encountered in The friends club, returns here with all his fragility and sensitivity, which make him an endearing and identifiable character. Guerrive’s unadorned illustrations complement the short sentences, leaving room for the essentials. This opus is also part of a new all-cardboard collection in which we also find Crocus and poop And Crocus likes noise. A refreshing and hilarious series about small daily hassles.
Marie Fradette
A thousand million ports
Monsieur Ed Editions have a flair for these hybrid albums, which refuse conventions to impose a singular and authentic vision. Octopuses don’t have bones is it a spreadsheet, a documentary or an album? One thing is certain, it invites us, based on the figures, to discover salient, absurd and astonishing facts which concern life in all its forms. Did you know that it takes around 6 million flakes to form a snowball? That the Sun was the only star in our solar system? How many leaves do you think an adult oak tree has? Yes, right there: 500,000! The living is fascinating, and this album intends to celebrate it by demystifying it in a stunning way. Unconventional for two cents, the proposition is supported by illustrations in bright colors and childish features, which embody a desire to learn through play. Who said that arithmetic was tasteless?
Yannick Marcoux
From the disadvantage of being born
A quest for identity can only be serious, right? Céline Claire sees things differently, and her Three beautiful babies is a hilarious demonstration of the fact that you can search for your roots in a light and cheerful way. From the dark cave in which they were born to this vat of cotton candy into which they fell, three babies wonder which species they belong to: “We have a big problem,” says Cric. “Indeed, we don’t know who we are! » laments Crac. Their wandering is strewn with errors and deceptions and, in a delicious nod to the fable of the three little pigs, their quest finds an outcome as unexpected as it is tasty. Through writing that relies on skillful iterative play and illustrations where the mystery is covered in ridicule, this story tickles the delicate question of identity while arousing the most harmless laughter. An album that sets the table for the barbecue season!
Yannick Marcoux