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Award-winning Books

French Titles

Prix Alvine-Bélisle
(Association pour l’avancement des sciences et des techniques de la documentation)
For the best book of the year.

Klonk, ou, Comment se débarasser des adolescents

The hero of this story is 11 years old and loves to play hockey. Unfortunately, after breaking his leg, he finds himself immobilized for several weeks. He then becomes fast friends with Klonk, who initiates him in reading the great adventure stories and in finding his favourite authors. The story also chronicles the 1960s and humorously depicts the life of young people at that time. The black-and-white illustrations which suit the novel’s style, will appeal to young readers.

Prix 12/17 (Brive/Montréal)
(Salon du livre de Montréal/Foire du livre de Brive-la-Gaillarde)
For the best book for adolescents.

L’Étoile a pleuré rouge

It is a hot and muggy night in late June in Montreal. Yann is involved in his first knife attack. He has to make an impression, as he wants to become one of the Knights of Midnight, a gang of young people who terrorize those around them. They are fond of gratuitous, racist or sexist violence. They "squat" here and there, living off prostitution and a little drug dealing and bartering. Their motto is ruthless: "attack or be eliminated". The attack is a failure for the group. Yann, who knows someone who witnesses the attack, has to save him, thereby making a critical choice concerning the orientation of his own life. Written in a modern style to convey a small event in which the lives of today’s young people unfold.

Prix du livre M. Christie
(Christie Brown & Co.)
For the best French book age 7 and under.

*Mon chien est un éléphant

©1994, Annick Press Ltd. Rémy Simard (text), Pierre Pratt (art).

Available in English:My Dog Is an Elephant (Toronto: Annick, 1994).

Hector dearly loves to take care of endangered animals. One day he adopts an elephant being sought by the zoo. Because an elephant companion is easily detected, he has to return it to Africa. But his sadness is shortlived, since on the very day of the elephant’s departure, Hector finds a true friend... The illustrations, by Pierre Pratt, in ink and acrylic fully expand the power of this story. The cut aways, the close-ups, the bird’s-eye views and the low-angle shots bring out the contrast in the sizes of the protagonists. A humorous book that is a pleasure to read.

Prix du livre M. Christie
(Christie Brown & Co.)
For the best French book age 8 to 11.

* Le Parc aux sortilèges

Three children visit an amusement park with their parents. They experience many adventures when they leave the House of Mirrors and enter a completely different and somewhat menacing universe. In the end they return to our world and are reunited with their parents. The black-and-white illustrations express the disquieting and horrific mood of the book.

Prix du livre M. Christie
(Christie Brown & Co.)
For the best French book age 12 and over.

L’Étoile a pleuré rouge

It is a hot and muggy night in late June in Montreal. Yann is involved in his first knife attack. He has to make an impression, as he wants to become one of the Knights of Midnight, a gang of young people who terrorize those around them. They are fond of gratuitous, racist or sexist violence. They "squat" here and there, living off prostitution and a little drug dealing and bartering. Their motto is ruthless: "attack or be eliminated". The attack is a failure for the group. Yann, who knows someone who witnessed the attack, has to save him, thereby making a critical choice concerning the orientation of his own life. Written in a modern style to convey a small event in which the lives of today’s young people unfold.

Prix Elizabeth-Mrazik-Cleaver pour le meilleur livre d’images Canadien
(L’Union internationale pour les livres de jeunesse-Canada)
For best illustrations.

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall

As light winds scatter the leaves and sunlight steals through the trees, the winds begin to grow colder and the sky grows darker. The poetry of this story speaks of peaceful surroundings and oneness with nature as parent and child journey and autumn passes into the first snowfall of winter. The spirit of the wilderness is evoked with the strong images brought out by the text. Native artist Leo Yerxa has created beautiful collage illustrations painted on tissue paper in acrylic, ink and watercolour. The blending of colours is stunning. The use of typography is very interesting -- the first letter on each page has been stylized incorporating a design element.

Prix Le Signet d’or
(Radio-Québec)
Best children’s book.

Ils dansent dans la tempête

Now 18 years of age, Marie-Lune, a student, sets out to live the life of a self-sufficient young woman. But too many pains and emotions prevent her from moving serenely forward in life. At 15 years of age she lost her mother and gave her son up for adoption. Now she finds herself all alone. Her friend Jean is far away studying, and Antoine, her first true love, has committed suicide. Anger and hopelessness assail her. She goes back to visit the lake where she grew up. There Marie-Lune discovers a community of nuns who give her shelter. In living with them she comes to terms with her fear of abandonment and learns to trust in life.

Prix Le Signet d’or
(Radio-Québec)

Children’s author, chosen by young people’s popular vote.
Chrystine Brouillet

Chrystine Brouillet was born in Quebec in 1958. She has been publishing detective stories and historical novels since 1982. In addition to writing for an adult audience, she has written many books for a younger public. In 1985 she was awarded the Alvine-Bélisle prize for Le Complot, a detective story for readers aged 9 to 12. Since then she has published over a dozen titles that are still very popular. In 1994, she attracted the vote of young people, which earned her, for the second time, the Signet d’or prize. Five of her works for young readers have been translated into Chinese, Italian and Arabic.

Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général/littérature de jeunesse
(Conseil des Arts du Canada)
For the best text.

Une Belle journée pour mourir

By permission of Suzanne Martel.
Suzanne Martel
Saint-Laurent, Québec: Fides, 1993, 308 p.
ISBN 2762116759 (v. 3)
Ages 12 and up

Sophie Quesnel lives in La Chine with the family of Thomas Cormier, general merchant. She helps with the daily chores of a household filled with a horde of kids. This curious, lively teenager is a powerless witness to an attack by the Iroquois on La Chine. She later lives through other tragedies that upset her life. This historic novel lets us follow the leading characters of New France in the seventeenth century. The saga also thrusts us into the heart of the challenges faced by the pioneers of our country.

Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général/littérature de jeunesse

(Conseil des Arts du Canada)
For the best illustrations.

* Mon chien est un éléphant

Available in English: My Dog Is an Elephant (Toronto: Annick, 1994).

Hector dearly loves to take care of endangered animals. One day he adopts an elephant being sought by the zoo. Because an elephant companion is easily detected, he has to return it to Africa. But his sadness is shortlived, since on the very day of the elephant’s departure, Hector finds a true friend... The illustrations, by Pierre Pratt, in ink and acrylic fully expand the power of this story. The cut aways, the close-ups, the bird’s-eye views and the low-angle shots bring out the contrast in the sizes of the protagonists. A humorous book that is a pleasure to read.

Prix Monique-Corriveau
(Salon du livre de Québec)
For the best novel or tale (8 to 12 years).

Marélie de la mer

Marélie is an orphan. She is moved from one foster family to another but would really like to have her own mother. To satisfy her longing, she invents an imaginary mother every evening. One day, when placed in a new home at the other end of the world, her true mother bursts into her life. For Marélie it’s the beginning of a troubling and moving story.