This text is part of the special Le Petit D
The refuge tree
Winter and summer alike, the tree is inhabited and animated by different small animals. A family of squirrels, cardinals and their eight chicks, not to mention the owl, share the space of this large conifer. However, each season leaves room for a few nuances, in particular these bees sleeping well under the snow which buzz once summer arrives. The same goes for children who, in winter, swap their dinner on the grass for a tree decoration session. In a short text, Mélanie Perreault – who offers here her 4e accordion book – manages to convey with simplicity and liveliness all the life that is played in and around the tree. The illustrator, Maurèen Poignonec, does not skimp on the color and the many details that stimulate the eye, invites you to look for animals here and there. The movement in the line and the abundance of warm colors also create a reassuring and inviting effect, like this plant refuge.
In my beautiful tree, there is … ★★★★, Mélanie Perreault and Maurèen Poignonec, Les 400 coups, Montréal, 2021, 24 pages. 1 year and over.
Review Blue Beard
Sinister character from the tale whose version by Charles Perrault dates from 1697, Bluebeard returns in In the shade of Bluebeard, a completely contemporary adaptation of the work. Although Charlotte Moundlic takes up the essence of the drama, she creates new characters that allow us to better understand the past of the man and his wife. The latter, here known under the name of Daphne, accepts the marriage of convenience so as not to displease her mother, who suffered from a passionate union. As for Bluebeard, an orphan, he would be the “fruit of a diabolical union”. The rest is relatively faithful to the original text until the finale, where it is not Daphne’s brothers who arrive as saviors, but her two sisters. The place of women, their courage and their humanity come in a way to avenge all those who suffered before them. The striking paintings of François Roca plant the action somewhere in the 19th centurye century, in sumptuous decorations, a castle in which the gilding plays in contrast with the darkness of the rooms. Blue, omnipresent, also ensures an uncertain climate. Reminder, if any, of the beard of the bloodthirsty man.
In the shade of Bluebeard, ★★★★, Charlotte Moundlic and François Roca, Albin Michel Jeunesse, Paris, 2021, 40 pages. 7 years and over.