ne evening when he overhears a conversation between his mothers, Florent hears one of them utter a sentence that opens his eyes to the state of the planet: “Would we be making a mistake by putting another child in the world? From then on, two questions tormented the boy: “Am I too much? and “Is the planet bad because of me?” »
If not for the illustrator and author Eve Patenaude (doveQuebec America, 2020), the story told world’s smallest saviora magnificent children’s album delicately approaching eco-anxiety, would have been darker, says Samuel Larochelle (I dropped my heart in your mouthStanké, 2021), tireless journalist, author and lecturer.
“I was not sure that I liked the tangent that the end took, confirms the illustrator, joined by telephone. I have children and I worry since their birth about the fate of the planet. With Samuel, we felt that we had something important that hadn’t been done much and I told myself that there was a way to make a more hopeful final with this project. »
“I found Eve so relevant that I completely changed the end, confides the author met at his home. I allowed myself to go so far in his fears in the first two thirds of the story that I then wanted to bring Florent back to the positive, to the action, because at the level of children, there is things we can do to change the world. »
child’s heart
It is by reading Bubble wrap (XYZ, 2021), by Simon Boulerice, that Samuel Larochelle discovered his prodigious illustrator cousin. When the editor Tristan Malavoy-Racine asked him who he wanted to translate Florent’s torments into images, the name of Eve Patenaude imposed itself. To her great joy, the latter did not hesitate to accept the invitation.
“As soon as I saw the word ‘ecoanxiety’ in Tristan’s email, I thought it was a subject that really touched me a lot, because environmental considerations are what interest me and I worry the most. I was won over by Samuel’s words without having to read the entire text. I liked his poetry, the fragility of the character who wants to do so well. »
“My characters are never smooth, which makes them endearing”, explains the novelist, proud to announce that world’s smallest savior will be released in France and will be translated into English for the Canadian, American and British markets. “Florent is hypersensitive; what he sees, what he hears, what he feels will crush him, maybe even harder than other children. By his great energy, by his great sensitivity, by his two mothers, by his awareness of all the fears that inhabit him, Florent is both very different and very universal. It must be proof that it comes from me because I want to be, sometimes in an unhealthy way, as unique as possible. »
Moreover, Florent is reminiscent of other characters and alter ego of Samuel Larochelle, such as the anxious Lilie (“Lilie”, volume 1: The perfect apprenticeDruide, 2018) and the insomniac narrator of Fight the night one star at a time (Legacy, 2021).
“When I was young, the word ‘anxiety’ did not exist, so I spent all my youth without ever believing myself to be anxious, and now that I write on these subjects, letting my emotions run through me which belong to my young characters, I see that I am able to understand them because this ball that hurts inside, I know it. I would also say that the child in me never left; my candor is exponential and I want it to continue to take center stage, while seeking greater maturity, a better knowledge of myself. »
Image poetry
If we find the personality of the novelist in the central character, we recognize the signature of Eve Patenaude in the softness of the lines and the colors, where mauve and turquoise dominate, in the reassuring presence of the birds, which represent the mothers. , and in the slender beauty of the flowers, which symbolize both fragility and hope. As in Bubble wrapshe takes up the motif of the rope to illustrate the child’s anxiety, going so far as to create very strong images, such as the mask Florent wears to hide his anxiety.
“Gentleness was my primary objective with this story, since it’s a difficult subject — we’re talking about eco-anxiety, but at the limit, we’re talking about elements that can affect depression, explains- she. It is perhaps a maternal instinct that I have in front of this character, [devant le désir] to wrap it. I had a lot of fun creating more subdued shades to show the distress, the pollution, without falling into black or very gray. I wanted to create images as strong as those in Samuel’s words, while presenting a difficult reality in a way that was softer, more accessible, easier for children to convey. »
While he is releasing a biography of Bruno Pelletier these days (Bruno Pelletier. The time has come…Libre Expression) and that he is working on TV series projects, not to mention the novel for adults and the biography of a Quebec actress which will be released next year, Samuel Larochelle reveals that we will reconnect with Florent.
“Florent is the son I could have. Looking at it in Eve’s features, I have the impression of seeing my child and it makes me want to become a dad even more. I still have things to say for a second, a third volume, maybe even more, because I want to continue to follow it. This theme, we have to talk about it and we have to talk about it differently. And I do it by speaking to hearts and emotions. »