The album “Seuls” wins the TD Prize for children’s literature

Author Paul Tom and illustrator Mélanie Baillairgé won the TD Prize for Canadian Children’s and Youth Literature on Monday, which highlighted the exceptional quality of their illustrated album Alone. Accompanied by a $50,000 scholarship, this prize is among the most prestigious in children’s literature in the country.

Adapted from a documentary of the same name directed by Paul Tom, Alone gives a voice and a face to the approximately 400 children and adolescents who arrive in Canada each year, without a parent or an adult, to apply for refugee status. Through the journey of three of them, Afshin, Alain and Patricia, the book recounts the mourning, the sacrifices, the trials and the courage required by exile and the quest, however fundamental, for security. By choosing three stories that draw towards the light, the two artists highlight the importance and power of the host society in the process of integration and the development of a feeling of belonging.

Paul Tom had never written a book before embarking on the adaptation of his documentary. “The film’s production house, Picbois, wanted to find a way to go into classes with an accessible tool to talk to young people about immigration. They thought about approaching the publishing group La Court Escale with a children’s album project. » While the publishers were considering calling on an experienced author, illustrator Mélanie Baillairgé suggested the name of the filmmaker. “I had been working on the subject for four years, and I knew it like the back of my hand. The experience was so enriching and easy for me. The book was finished in around ten days,” he said.

The Montreal artist, himself born to Cambodian parents in a refugee camp in Thailand, discovered with this project all the power of literature. “In the last year, I have made more than thirty visits to classes in the province. I think the book allows young people to experience the loneliness and fear felt by the characters. They are able to put a face, human emotions to these abstract concepts of refugees and immigration. There are always several who raise their hands to tell me that they will never see immigrants the same way again. It’s extremely touching. »

This recognition joins several other nominations for Alone. The album was notably a finalist for the Governor General’s Awards and the Booksellers’ Youth Prize, in addition to still being in the running for the Alvine-Bélisle Prize, the winner of which will be revealed on November 9.

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