Supporting the diploma of “Guardians in the know”, Jean-Pier Gravel has always adored children. “They are in the truth,” said, admiringly, the former host of Hi hello weekend and of Star Academy. With them there is no bullshit. They are in the senses. They are in the present moment. […] When we are with them, there is an ease of living moments and the theme of the book comes from there. ”
One morning, Boubou and his mother break the routine. No kindergarten for the boy today. The duo will instead spread joy around them through small, simple gestures. One, two, three moments of happiness: it’s the start of a new collection. “Do you want to do like Boubou and spread sweet?” “, We ask young readers at the end of the book. A cover page invites them to write down their actions and start their own collection.
“Some children might say to themselves, if I don’t see [la collection], it is useless. But one of the underlying messages of the album is to say, yes, the collection is intangible, but that has one big advantage: it’s always with you. You will be able to transport it, talk about it, embellish it, make it grow everywhere, ”says the man who has worked in the world of television for 20 years.
“I tried to make the book that I would have liked to have at that age,” explains Jean-Pier Gravel. Young, he would have involved the whole Gravel-Rioux clan in the harvest of small pleasures, he says.
The importance of seniors
Among the moments presented in the album, there is this moment when Boubou offers an ice cream to an old man crossed in the street. “Thank you for this delicate attention. I felt very lonely, you just had my day, ”Roger replies.
For the author, who is also a producer, “it was obvious that one of the three moments of the book was going to feature an elder”. “I was lucky to have my four grandparents for quite a long time. I was very, very close to my maternal grandmother, Thérèse, who was perhaps the person I loved the most in the world. […] I find that very important, this relationship between children and elders. ”
The “bonneurredifissile”
The collection of moments also addresses anxiety in children. Boubou has the “bonneurredifissile”, according to his parents. From the top of his 5 years, the boy is convinced that it is a serious illness. By sowing happiness, he heals little by little.
When you are too much in your head, I illustrate it as a heart that turns gray, that moves away from its original color, red. […] When you go out of that head to go towards the other […], your heart will rekindle.
Jean-Pier Gravel, author of The collection of moments
In the album, the mother speaks of double magic, because, by creating moments, the little boy illuminates the lives of others, but also his own.
“Boubou is a bit like me at various ages,” says Jean-Pier Gravel. I was some sort of cranky old monuncle before his time. Seven or eight years ago I decided I had to change that life. I didn’t want this to be my way. Creating moments of happiness for others in various ways is my way of bringing back that famous red heart. In 2019, he also launched the Moments Department, a company whose mission is to “design tailor-made moments of happiness”.
The author hopes that his book will inspire not only children, but also parents, and why not, teachers or school principals. ” [Des instants de bonheur], it’s so easy to do. I encourage people to get over their embarrassment. Dive in and you will see. In my opinion, the chances are good that you like it a little more than you initially thought. ”
The collection of moments
Text by Jean-Pier Gravel
Illustrations by Amélie Dubois
Cardinal editions
32 pages