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 Fée 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 café, 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 Îles 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.
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 Fée 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 café, 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 Îles 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.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Oct 4, 2022 |
| Specifications | 40 pages | 11 in x 9.5 in |
| Keywords | Acadian; Acadian; East coast; Canada; town life; community; maritime life; multigenerational; small town; accepting change; finding joy; supportive family; family break-up; separation anxiety; child's perspective; children and parents; people and places; vivid setting; mixed media; |
| Written By |
MARIE-ANDRÉE 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 Amélie Dubois, and a book of children’s poetry, Un chemin dans la mer, illustrated by Catherine Petit. Marie-Andrée lives in Montreal, Quebec. |
| Illustrated by |
DOMINIQUE LEROUX is a multidisciplinary artist and puppeteer who lives on Quebec’s Îles de la Madeleine, where she founded La Petite Théâtrerie, 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. |
| Written By |
|
MARIE-ANDRÉE 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 Amélie Dubois, and a book of children’s poetry, Un chemin dans la mer, illustrated by Catherine Petit. Marie-Andrée lives in Montreal, Quebec. |
| Illustrated by |
|
DOMINIQUE LEROUX is a multidisciplinary artist and puppeteer who lives on Quebec’s Îles de la Madeleine, where she founded La Petite Théâtrerie, 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. |
| Audience | ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1 |
| Key Text Features | dialogue; explanation; illustrations; photographs; vignettes |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 |
The scrapbook-style illustrations feature real photos, lending this comforting tale an autobiographical air.
” —New York TimesAppealing paint-and-collage illustrations … A lovely ode to La Grave.
” —Kirkus ReviewsA triumphant tale of found family and community bonds.
” —BooklistThis 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 MaterialsPebbles 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 BooksThis book overflows with gorgeous Expressionism, collages of characters and scenes … [and] the story holds equal nuance and layers.
” —The TelegramThe scrapbook-style illustrations feature real photos, lending this comforting tale an autobiographical air.
” —New York Times