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Read Up On It Home |
French Titles
![]() | À la merci des Iroquois Susanne Julien Iberville, Québec: Coïncidence/Jeunesse, 1994, 79 p. (Coïncidence/Jeunesse. Transition) ISBN 2893970893 ages 9 to 11 |
It is 1689. Thomas and his father Joseph Potier are travelling down the Ottawa River toward Montreal to trade in furs. When an Algonquin ambush separates the two travellers, Thomas is taken to an Iroquois village and his father is left for dead. In this brief account, Susanne Julien captures all the anguish of being a prisoner among a people with unfamiliar customs. In its portrayal of a young boy's adaptation to his fate and in the route it takes to a final unexpected outcome, this novel will please avid readers of both history and suspense.
![]() | Le Baiser maléfique Adaptation by Robert Soulières Illustrations: Stéphane Jorisch Laval, Québec: Les 400 coups, 1995, 28 p. (Collection Billochet) ISBN 2921620065 Ages 7 and up New version. Originally published: Le Baiser maléfique Sillery, Québec: Ovale (1985?) |
Rose Latulipe, a lively 16-year-old, begs her father to celebrate Mardi Gras by inviting all the neighbours to a dance which, she promises, will end at midnight, before Ash Wednesday begins. Rose neglects her fiancé Gabriel for the entire evening, and even more so after the 11 o'clock arrival of an elegant stranger dressed entirely in black who leads the vivacious young woman away in a diabolical dance. The customs and superstitions of a time not so long ago come to life again in this legend illustrated with watercolours by Stéphane Jorisch that draw the reader into a frenetic pas de deux.
![]() | Des Battes de baseball pour Noël Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak Illustrations: Vladyana Krykorka Translation: Lise-Anne Laverdure Toronto: Annick Press, 1994, 23 p. ISBN 155037379X (bound), 1550373781 (paperback) Ages 6 to 10 Available in English: Baseball Bats for Christmas (Toronto: Annick Press, 1990) |
Arvaarluk and his friends are astonished to see Rocky Parsons, a pilot who — imagine! — does not speak a word of Inuktitut, unload six trees from his plane in the snow desert known as Repulse Bay in 1955. What better to do with these trees, but turn them into baseball bats? The warm characters in this story evoke the pleasure of carefree northern life, thanks in part to the illustrations that depict humans and landscape in perfect harmony.
![]() | Blues 1946 Gérald Gagnon Montréal: Boréal, 1991, 151 p. (Boréal Inter) ISBN 2890524205 Ages 14 to 18 |
The threat of a labour dispute — the ever-present companion of many Canadian workers — comes alive in this story which addresses the concerns of an evolving Quebec culture. In 1946, several young people unite inconspicuously to protect one of their fathers, M. Hébert, who is fired when he persists in speaking French, even to his English bosses. When Richard Lacoste, the narrator and central character, discovers an English ancestor, the tension increases. By focusing on the opposition of two diverse cultures grappling with an inalterable past and an uncertain destiny, the author involves his readers, in timely fashion, in a page out of Canada's recent past.
![]() | Une bonne et heureuse année Roch Carrier Illustrations: Gilles Pelletier Montréal: Livres Toundra, 1991, 24 p. ISBN 0887762689 Ages 6 and up Available in English: A Happy New Year's Day (Montreal: Tundra Books, 1991) |
The comforts of home become even more essential to Canadians' well-being when a thick coat of snow covers the ground. In this book, Gilles Pelletier's full-page illustrations communicate the joy of a New Year's Day in the 1940s, when New Year's Day was celebrated by the whole family around a table overflowing with good things to eat, listed here with obvious pleasure. The text, by Roch Carrier, evokes the warm atmosphere and joie de vivre of a family celebration as seen through the eyes of a four-year-old in this nostalgic, but authentic glimpse of the past.