Tizan prend l'avion !

Une amie, qui a récemment eu la chance de voyager sur AIR MAURITIUS, m'a envoyé cette jolie nouvelle : notre album est à l'honneur à la page LIRE du magazine trimestriel (n°86 de janvier-février-mars) de la compagnie, présent dans tous les avions de la flotte !

 

 

Tizan et l'Arbre à Bonbons
(Tizan and the Sweeties Tree)

Voilà un livre qui sent bon le conte traditionnel. Cette histoire a longtemps tenu les enfants en haleine dans notre île alors qu'elle était soufflée par les mamies et papis lors de paisibles après-midis sous les manguiers. L'auteur, Amarnath Hosany, aux côtés de Véronique Massenot, s'est emparé de l'histoire du gourmand Tizan qui se régale des bonbons achetés chaque samedi. Mais il en voudrait toujours plus. Alors va germer l'idée de faire pousser un arbre de ces « gâteaux-canettes » dans un coin secret de la forêt. Ce projet va-t-il se réaliser ? L'illustration est signée de Sébastien Chebret, qui a su faire pétiller la magie de l'île Maurice et de ses belles histoires pour les plus petits.

This is a book with a nice touch of traditional storytelling. A tale which kept our island children entertained for many years, when it was told by grandma and grandpa on peaceful afternoons under the mango tree. Amarnath Hosany and Veronique Massenot have taken up' the story of greedy Tizan who loved the sweets he bought every Saturday. But he always wanted more. And so he planted one of his gateau canettes in a secret place in the forest. How did his project fare? Illustrations are by Sebastien Chebret who has managed to give a sparkle to the magic of Mauritius and its stories for the very young.

 

Merci Alix ! ;)

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Nuage d'inspiration(s) / Cloud inspiration(s)

[English version follows.]

Il y a six ans, à la même époque de l'année, je publiais cette note consacrée à l'écriture d'un futur album. Cela me fait tout drôle de la relire aujourd'hui... Car depuis, le livre est paru - j'imagine que vous devinez lequel ? - et s'est mis à voyager. Non pas sur un nuage mais grâce à la magie des langues. Et ce n'est pas fini, paraît-il : après l'Allemagne, les pays anglophones et la Corée, il doit bientôt partir pour deux nouvelles destinations (et dans deux "alphabets" différents) ! @ suivre... :-)

 

 

En attendant qu'il arrive, je vous invite à découvrir les jolies choses que la version anglaise du livre inspire à ses lecteurs... Par exemple, Patty Palmer, professeur en Californie et spécialiste de l'enseignement des arts plastiques à l'école, l'a sélectionné parmi ses meilleurs livres-ressources et utilisé dans l'un de ses cours. It’s simply too great to pass up, écrit-elle ! WOW! Thank you Patty!

Les deux complices de Playing By The Book et The Crafty Crow donnent quant à elles plusieurs pistes d'après-lecture - de même que Julie Arnold de Five & One ! Elles ont même inventé un jeu de société ! Il y est question de nuages qui se déplacent de continents en continents... Et que de compliments, là encore : It’s a stunning book, wonderful to read, really lovely to look at and brimming with creative possibilities!

 

An Elephant over Havelock Island, Andaman, India. © Sugata Kuila

(Source : site de The Cloud Appreciation Society)

 

C'est assez fou, presque vertigineux pour moi, de mesurer le chemin parcouru durant toutes ces années, depuis ce premier moment où je rêvassais le nez en l'air et la tête dans les nuages à la recherche d'une inspiration chagallienne... ♥ 

Alors, il y a quelques mois, je suis allée faire un petit clin d'œil au maître des couleurs - ma façon à moi de le remercier pour tout ça ! ^^ Pas de nuages, ici... plutôt des ors et du velours ! Mais, là encore, j'aurais pu rester rêvasser des heures, toujours le nez en l'air ! ;-) 

Le plafond de l'Opéra de Paris, Marc Chagall (1964).

 

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Cloud inspiration(s)

Six years ago I published this note about writing a new illustrated book. So moving for me to go back to it today... The book I was referring to now exists! Have you guessed which one I'm talking about already? Well, that book actually started travelling. Not on a cloud, no, but through the magic of translation! And it looks as if it might just be the beginning: after Germany, English-speaking countries and Korea, my story is soon to reach two new destinations... with two different “alphabets”!

Until it does, I'd like to invite you to discover some of the lovely creations that stemmed from the English version of the book... For instance, Patty Palmer (an American elementary school art specialist) included it among her best books-resources and used it as part of one of her lessons. It's simply too great to pass up, she wrote! WOW! Thank you, Patty!

Top reading websites Playing By The Book and The Crafty Crow also made several great suggestions for reading extension activities, as did Julie Arnold from Five & One! In fact, they even invented a board game involving clouds travelling across the world... It's a stunning book, wonderful to read, really lovely to look at and brimming with creative possibilities! they wrote. (So proud! ^^)

 

 

I find it pretty crazy and almost dizzying when I consider how far things have gone in the past few years – since I first stared at the clouds in search of an idea sent by Chagall... ♥

And so, a few months ago I decided to go and pay my respects to the Master of Colours: my way of thanking him for everything! ^ ^ Not a cloud in sight ... just gold and velvet! But here I was once again, mesmerized... And I could have stayed for hours there, just dreaming and staring at the lovely skies! ;-)

Opéra de Paris, Marc Chagall (1964).

 

(Merci à Lise Morel pour sa super traduction :

rien de tel qu'une vraie professionnelle !)

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The Three Musicians

Very good news!

My picture book Les Trois Musiciens will be soon available in English!  

The kingdom of Mirador is terrified of a monstrous, fire-spewing beast that lurks just outside the village walls. No one has actually seen the creature except for the king, whose constant reminder of impending danger turns the village gloomy and joyless. One spring day a troupe of musicians and their dog enters the gates. Suddenly there is fun and romance, song and dance. The people are no longer afraid—until the loathsome beast does, in fact, appear. What happens next will delight children and adults alike as the magic of art and music transforms screams of terror into peals of laughter. 

Read more? Come on!

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New Mail Art Call!

At last, here is my new call in English!

The winter has come and the weather is cold, but ... perhaps your dreams are sunny?

Or ... you live in a place where there is no true seasons ... and you are dreaming of some snowy day, with a little fresh wind!

Please, send us a postcard from this so inspiring place! A place that does exist somewhere in the world or only in your heart ...

(> click to enlarge!)

 

Médiathèque municipale - Espace Saint-Exupéry 

32 bis rue de la Station - BP 90043 
95132 Franconville cedex

 

The works will not be returned, but they will be exhibited at the Public Library of Franconville (near Paris, FRANCE) after several workshops that I will conduct with the children of the city. We hope your cards will be a kind of opened window on the world's beauty. Thank a lot!

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Souvenirs de San Francisco ! ♥

Chers lecteurs, chers visiteurs... Depuis le temps (bientôt 7 ans !) que j'écris sur ces pages, il est rare que j'expose ma pomme plein cadre - encore moins celle de mes enfants ! Aujourd'hui, petite entorse au règlement.

Car quelle surprise, quelle fierté ! Visitant cet été le SFMOMA (Musée d'Art Moderne de San Francisco) en famille... que vois-je soudain à la librairie ?

Mon Voyage sur un Nuage in English!

 

Et ce n'est pas tout ! Quelques heures plus tard, à la recherche d'un agenda pour la rentrée, mes filles m'entraînent dans un grand magasin de matériel Beaux-Arts et jolie papeterie situé sur Market Street - chez Blick, pour ceux qui connaissent. Nous errons dans les rayons sans trouver, quand... tout à coup... TADAM !

Yeepeeeee! Quelle journée !!!

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Village of a Thousand Treasures

Aujourd'hui, un message pour mes petits lecteurs anglais...

Hello to you all! Here is another story especially for the little readers of The Great Wave I met today near London... using Skype! Ready to go to Japan again? Let's go!

One day, in the Land of the Rising Sun, two wicked robbers stopped at an inn after a long journey. There they overheard a conversation about a place known as “the village of a thousand treasures”. Immediately they gallopped off to the village hoping to seize the treasures. When they arrived, however, all they found were hard-working men and women, lots of children and humble houses. Where were the villagers hiding their treasures? Blinded by their greed, the two robbers end up falling into the trap that the villagers set up to protect their most valuable possessions, something far more precious than money or gold...

See you on Wednesday! ;-)

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Welcome!

IT'S NEW!

I just added an English page to my website !

Self-portrait, books, illustrations, animations,

travel sketchbooks, links, story to listen...

WELCOME TO ALL MY READERS!

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The Great Wave

At last ! My new story is born...

What delight !

 

With the new book comes Naoki...

Naoki arrived newborn one winter’s day on the boat named Taro, in a high wind, deposited there by a giant wave.

Since then, seven years have passed, but Naoki is still small, very, very small.

In order to grow, should he turn towards the ocean? The answer will come to him from a fabulous silver fish...

 

Like Journey on a Cloud, this book initially belonged to the ''Pont des Arts" collection published by L'Élan Vert: an invitation to enter – to dive into, I should say! - a masterpiece of world heritage.  It was translated into English (and German too) by Prestel Publishing (Prestel Verlag, in Germany). Thus, after the Married Couple of the Eiffel Tower by Marc Chagall, I chose to explore The Great Wave (real name ‘Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa’) by Hokusai.

This time, I did not fly off to distant lands, but concentrated on Japanese folklore relating to children and the sometimes excessive hopes that their parents have for them. It deals with themes such as birth, unknown origins, being different, many unanswered questions and internal resources... It touches on the theme of adoption, of identity, the passage from childhood to adolescence and resilience. One can also simply see an Eastern tale, full of mystery, transformation and... love!

For the illustrator, the challenge was great! He was paying tribute to the "Master" while maintaining his own style and, quite honestly, I think Bruno Pilorget achieved this with great success. He even allowed himself a few quotations, to invite the reader to discover other prints in The Great Wave series: the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. So, like Hokusai, he tried to represent this volcano, so emblematic of Japan, in each if his illustrations.

But enough bla-bla! Let’s take a look at the images...

 

 

Not all the illustrations are here. The suspense is safe and sound !

> The Great Wave sold in India, in South Africa or in Australia :-)

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