Pebbles to the Sea
Published on 17. November 2022
Book
Hardback
40 pages
978-1-77306-824-4 (ISBN)
Description
Two children feel adrift between the separate worlds of their parents ...
With their father at the marina, and their mother in the workshop, Flo and Fee aren't sure where they belong. But at least they can still have fun painting the treasures that wash up on the shore.
One day they hear a noise and see a stone trace an arc across the sky - it must be from Henri's giant slingshot! They decide to go see him, but first stop at the cafe, where they chat with the piano player, then visit their artist-friend in her shop. When they finally reach Henri, he lifts them up onto ladders where they can see two islands that were once connected by an ice bridge. "Have the two islands separated? Like Maman and Papa?" Flo asks. But Henri tells them there's a sand bridge underwater that links the islands, just as the girls still link their parents. Then he, like the piano player and artist, walks away with a brush and can of paint. Where can they all be going?
This richly nuanced story is inspired by the geography and close-knit coastal community of La Grave heritage site on Quebec's Iles de la Madeleine. The French edition, Des couleurs sur la grave, won the prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse.
Key Text Features
dialogue
explanation
illustrations
photographs
vignettes
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
With their father at the marina, and their mother in the workshop, Flo and Fee aren't sure where they belong. But at least they can still have fun painting the treasures that wash up on the shore.
One day they hear a noise and see a stone trace an arc across the sky - it must be from Henri's giant slingshot! They decide to go see him, but first stop at the cafe, where they chat with the piano player, then visit their artist-friend in her shop. When they finally reach Henri, he lifts them up onto ladders where they can see two islands that were once connected by an ice bridge. "Have the two islands separated? Like Maman and Papa?" Flo asks. But Henri tells them there's a sand bridge underwater that links the islands, just as the girls still link their parents. Then he, like the piano player and artist, walks away with a brush and can of paint. Where can they all be going?
This richly nuanced story is inspired by the geography and close-knit coastal community of La Grave heritage site on Quebec's Iles de la Madeleine. The French edition, Des couleurs sur la grave, won the prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse.
Key Text Features
dialogue
explanation
illustrations
photographs
vignettes
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Reviews / Votes
The scrapbook-style illustrations feature real photos, lending this comforting tale an autobiographical air. * New York Times * Appealing paint-and-collage illustrations ... A lovely ode to La Grave. * Kirkus Reviews * A triumphant tale of found family and community bonds. * Booklist * This is a quiet and poetic picture book ... Pebbles to the Sea would be particularly reassuring for children whose parents are undergoing a separation or divorce as it reinforces the stability of the bonds between parents and children, regardless of the family structure. * CM: Canadian Review of Materials * Pebbles to the Sea is a story about community and the people in our lives who are there for us, even when we may feel alone. * Montreal Review of Books * This book overflows with gorgeous Expressionism, collages of characters and scenes ... [and] the story holds equal nuance and layers. * The Telegram *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ontario
Canada
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 3 years
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Illustrations
Full color throughout
Dimensions
Height: 282 mm
Width: 249 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77306-824-4 (9781773068244)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
MARIE-ANDREE ARSENAULT is a teacher and author of children's books. Her publications include the novel Les souvenirs du sable, finalist for the prix Tamarac Express; the picture book Mingan les nuages, illustrated by Amelie Dubois, and a book of children's poetry, Un chemin dans la mer, illustrated by Catherine Petit. Marie-Andree lives in Montreal, Quebec.
DOMINIQUE LEROUX is a multidisciplinary artist and puppeteer who lives on Quebec's Iles de la Madeleine, where she founded La Petite Theatrerie, a space for puppetry and creative projects for young children. The illustrations for this book, her first, were inspired by the feeling of fall on the islands, and they are a tribute to the people who live there.
SHELLEY TANAKA is an award-winning author, translator and editor who has written and translated more than forty books for children and young adults. She is faculty emerita at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Shelley lives in Kingston, Ontario.
DOMINIQUE LEROUX is a multidisciplinary artist and puppeteer who lives on Quebec's Iles de la Madeleine, where she founded La Petite Theatrerie, a space for puppetry and creative projects for young children. The illustrations for this book, her first, were inspired by the feeling of fall on the islands, and they are a tribute to the people who live there.
SHELLEY TANAKA is an award-winning author, translator and editor who has written and translated more than forty books for children and young adults. She is faculty emerita at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Shelley lives in Kingston, Ontario.