In Bologna... in spirit

Yes, top shelf, smash bang in the middle, it's me!
(And in excellent company, you'll note, n'est-ce pas Alice?)
Thanks to the CBI crowd who bumped into one of my publishers' stall in Bologna and thought of taking a photo!

Seen on the Etherweb

I've made it to the picture books list on Mary Esther Judy's blog, Fallen Star Stories. Mary read In Search of Happiness and, it seems, liked it!

This is a warm and well-written fable style picturebook written by Juliette Saumande. While the story is a familiar one, in the telling is a quality genuine and unique that truly sets it apart. Stylized, exquisite illustrations by Eric Puybaret (illustrator of 'Puff, The Magic Dragon) perfectly accent this tale as it carries the reader along. A wonderful and timeless picturebook to be treasured.

Thanks Mary!

Korean

I mentioned before that In Search of Happiness had been translated into Korean. It's taken some clever paneuropean googling to find some pics, but I've got them now. Enjoy! (and if anyone can tell me what the hero is called...)

And here are some of my princesses from an earlier book (10 Histoires de Princesses):

Left: Tidy-Your-Palace

Right: Princess O'Pea

 (they must have had some fun translating my Scottish pea pun...)

Tomorrow's talent...

For those of you who haven't had a chance to flick through the book (in French, English, Spanish or now Korean!), here's essentially what it looks like inside... This class made and wrote me 'postcards' (''to Juliette Saumande''!) which were A5 renderings/interpretations of Eric Puybaret's illustrations.

More happiness

As promised, here is some more art from the children I met in the south of France a little while ago. Or a 5/6 year old's definition of happiness...
From top to bottom, happiness is... 

• 
  
  Maman;
• 
  
  the land of parrots (where you can meet and feed the birds and they become your best friends);
• 
  
  to be with all my family;
• 
  
  to go fishing (Fabio was very specific here: it's underwater fishing);
• 
  
  the land of love.

Let me translate whole text on this last one: ''The land of love: In this land there's lots of love. Mum and Dad's love and my sisters' love. There's also my friends' love. And there's all the love I give them.''

Talented or what?

Back!

So I came back in the end. It was tempting to stay though, what with the nice heat, the big blue skies, the kids chanting my name in the yard (once), that little girl telling me I was beautiful as a princess, those great picturebooks carpeting the bookshops, my grandmother's cooking, the lavender in a pot I was given, the amazing artwork by the kids, the scenic towns, the novelty of having to run a writing workshop with Junior Infants in 20 minutes... Very tempting! But I thought I'd have to come back to tell you about it and now I have.

It was an incredible experience, albeit physically draining (there is such a thing as a Signing Elbow). No matter, I'll do it again. And when I get the chance, I will post some of said artwork, because it's really worth it. In the meantime, you can go and have a look at the photos of the award ceremony here. It took place in an old Roman theatre that could sit 900 (yes, 900 proud and loud parents), with a big stage which was promptly taken over by kids (aged 5 to 7) who sang songs about each of the four books in competition! In the grounds around the open-air theatre, the organisers had arranged some of the things made by the schools for all to see... deadly! So, In Search of Happiness didn't win the award, but a cool book about the many metamorphoses of a lift cabin did. And as it was written by a fellow claustrophobe, I can only say yeah!