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French Titles

Les bois magiques
André Noël
Illustrations: Francis Back
Montréal: La courte échelle,
2000. 95 p.
(Roman Jeunesse)
ISBN 2890214036
Ages 8 to 10

Les bois magiques
Source

This first novel, a trilogy which recounts the adventures of two teenagers, is a perfect blend of fiction and history. Added to the historical facts surrounding Cartier's second voyage are the tribulations of Pierre, and those of Ahonque with the shaman and the deer with magic antlers.

It is 1535, and Pierre, a 12-year-old farmboy, must leave Brittany following a clash with the son of his master. In St-Malo, he hires on as a sailor on Jacques Cartier's ship, la Grande Hermine, about to sail to the New World. In Canada, famine is ravaging the Aboriginal village of Achelacy and the shaman is looking for a scapegoat. Eleven-year-old Ahonque, daughter of the Chief, wants to save her people. In the forest, she meets an injured deer and prepares to kill it. However, in exchange for its life, the deer, whose antlers have magic properties, gives her the secret of eternal youth.

Cartier travels from Stadacona to Hochelaga. There he meets Aboriginal peoples who warn him of danger. One of these is Ahonque, whom the Chief gives to Cartier to protect from the shaman's revenge. Pierre and the girl become friends. Cartier returns to Stadacona for the winter. Scurvy is decimating Native peoples and sailors alike. With Pierre's help, Ahonque recovers the deer's antlers to treat the children and discovers an extract for the adults. When Cartier returns to Europe, Ahonque sails with Pierre on the ship.

The illustrations by Francis Back contain powerful and evocative imagery. The novels L'orphelin des mers and Trafic chez les Hurons complete the trilogy.

–HBP