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Tickle Your Funny Bone! -
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À L’ÉCO...L...E DE MONSIEUR BARDIN |
Rule number one: every morning, laugh for one minute; rule number two: chew gum to strengthen the jaw. And so on, in no particular order, a full set of rules for learning to read, write and count are presented. With Monsieur Bardin as a teacher, there are courses on sleep and the importance of dreaming. But what is happening to Monsieur Bardin? Harebrained, eccentric and imaginative, he draws children into an incessant whirlpool of knowledge. His students will never forget this first morning of the first day at school. Stéphane Poulin’s characteristic drawings make this incomparable teacher live and breath.
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À PAS DE SOURIS |
Pierrot is the happiest boy in the world. He is finally going on a trip with his whole family. But that morning, he isn’t expecting the incredible adventure that causes him and his family to continually delay their departure. Add to this a father who is losing his hair, a big sister who reads all the time, a neighbour called Madame Pampalon, and Grignotine, a small white mouse and you have all the ingredients for a funny little book, full of comical developments. But don’t read it right before leaving on a trip!
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ADIEU LA FERME, BONJOUR L’AMAZONIE |
Nancy should have thought about it before forging a note for her best friend to get out of school for the day. As punishment, she receives three weeks’ detention, during which she is assigned to write about her "ordinary" life on the farm. But Nancy has much grander literary ambitions. What she wants most is to write about the mysterious Dr. Zenzen, who lives deep in Amazonia! The confrontation between these two apparently very different worlds holds a great many surprises in store for us. This charming, humour-filled book is a pleasure to read.
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UN ANIMAL À LA MAISON |
Comical situations, expressive gestures and detailed illustrations provide the backdrop for a story about a family that decides to get a pet. The children and the parents have very different ideas about which animal to choose, and the fears of the one group come up against the wishes of the other. In a story that is easy to follow, children will enjoy the profusion of amusing situations related to the selection of an animal. The abundance of details in the drawings promises a variety of readings, depending on the points of reference suggested by the child and/or the adult.
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AU LIT, PRINCESSE ÉMILIE! |
Princess Émilie is exhausting. She absolutely, positively, flat-out refuses to go to bed. A stampede of characters: a cook, a knight, a prisoner, a master gunsmith, a king and a queen, pursue Émilie everywhere in the castle, trying to convince her to go to sleep. Obstinate, she prefers to find herself in her own land of dreams, where she sleeps under the stars. This amusing and entrancing text is well illustrated by cartoons that have the feel of watercolours and the colour of dreams. It is recommended to young children, that love to fall asleep with a smile on their lips.
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LA BOTTINE MAGIQUE DE PIPO |
This is a very beautiful work, with a theme full of imagination, very colourful illustrations and an ending that will make you smile. Pipo’s magic boot takes us to the country of a little boy whose feet are too long. A good fairy gives him magic boots. But the boots lengthen when they are wet! And Pipo, like any other child, cannot resist jumping into a puddle! Just imagine the result! He trips, and finds himself facing an ogre, to whom he gives his boots in exchange for his life. One of the boots ends up in a field where his sister is watering. She throws the boot, which has become too big, into the sea.
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CÉLESTINE MOTAMO |
At school, Voltaire has decided to choose a pen pal for his friend Max, who is too shy to find one for himself. Becoming acquainted with Célestine Motamo will prove to be a sensitive undertaking, with unexpected repercussions. This story is punctuated with colourful word play, where carrots predominate. Smelling of springtime, vegetable gardens and intrigue, Sylvie Nicolas’s text is awash in fantasy and tenderness, heightened by Steve Beshwaty’s luminous illustrations.
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LE CHASSEUR D’ARC-EN-CIEL |
The story begins when a small black and white figure decides to leave a pot of India ink to look for a rainbow. Our hero, an ink blot with paws, discovers the outside world through the magic of the colours of the rainbow. His voyage to the heart of the world of colour will make him realize that different is beautiful, and that a little black and white figure is just as beautiful, in its own way, as a rainbow. The success of this book owes a great deal to Yayo’s talent as an illustrator. The surrealistic poetry emanating from the illustrations illuminates ordinariness. Yayo’s light, airy touch transcends reality, delivering it through the naïve vision of a child exploring the world. An original book whose subtle humour proves that it is still possible to dream.
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LA CHÈVRE DE MONSIEUR POTVIN |
This book, inspired by an Alphonse Daudet tale, is a real pleasure. The characters in La Chèvre de Monsieur Potvin are true originals. Monsieur Potvin is always busy. He doesn’t understand why all his goats keep getting lost on the mountain. Max, the mischievous bulldog, amuses himself driving the goats to distraction. This continues until Agathe, a wise goat, brings about a change in the sheepfold: she teams up with Roméo, a wolf who is somewhat sympathetic to the goats’ cause. An entertaining story, with a good vocabulary and very expressive illustrations.
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CHOUPETTE ET SON PETIT PAPA |
Choupette’s father is not a very organized man. It discourages Choupette that all of the little annoyances of a poorly planned rising await him each morning. She would really like to be on time for her first day of school. Tibo’s text is magical, and Poulin’s illustrations work on every page, colourfully and humorously supporting the ambience of another era!
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COMMENT J’AI ARRÊTÉ LA SUCETTE |
Comment j’ai arrêté la sucette is the story of a baby who tells us of his decline in a world of "addicts": [translation] "I grew up this way, with my soother never more than an inch away. When I lost it, I was also completely lost [...] I was addicted!" But our one-toothed hero is resolved to quit, using every possible means to do so. He tears his soother, he trades with a neighbour. Nothing helps. His resolutions and relapses make us smile. A book to be read and reread, to savour the very expressive and colourful illustrations.
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LE GRAND VOYAGE DU PÈRE NOËL |
The last gifts delivered, another tour completed, Père Noël is dreaming of only one thing: a trip to Venice for a rest in a well-cushioned gondola. But in mid-flight, he loses his map of the world! How is he going to find his way now? This misadventure will take him and his two reindeer to the four corners of the earth. Surprisingly, they all reach Venice safe and sound. Michel Luppens tells an entertaining and well-organized story, with, it must be noted, a very sympathetic hero. This book has the added merit of showing us the world, while Évelyne Arcouette’s playful and joyous illustrations make us smile.
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GRATTELLE AU BOIS DORMANT |
Once upon a time, there was a sorcerer and a witch who were very unhappy because they didn’t have any children. One moonless night, a child named Gratelle is finally born. To celebrate the event, a great party is organized. All the ghastly neighbours are invited, as are the witchy godmothers, who are to cast spells on the child. But an unexpected guest arrives in the person of the Good Fairy. Jasmine Dubé reinvents a classic tale with mischievous pleasure. Doris Barrette’s illustrations, a veritable gallery of bizarre characters with hooked noses and chins, will be sure to entertain children and make bigger people smile.
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LA GRATTOUILLETTE |
This book brims over with multiple, very detailed illustrations of life at school. Anémone, a very good little girl, is afflicted with an allergic itch which pops out during math class. It is as if thousands of little ants had been given the word to tickle her nose, ants which she tries to chase with her finger until her "honker" ends up on the tip of her index finger! Catastrophe! She has to find a new nose, and she will find it amid a varied collection. Young children may find this exaggerated, unlikely, irreverent look at school life screamingly funny.
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MON AMI GODEFROY |
Let us enter the world of Somerset, an urchin whose implacable logic makes us smile from the beginning to the end of the novel. Mon ami Godefroy is a fine adventure in which friendship and perseverance play leading roles. Somerset wants a friend, and he wants to be friends with Godefroy. But nothing seems to work: neither slapstick nor good grades. Godefroy remains icy. How to get in touch with him? On his father’s advice, Somerset decides to invite Godefroy for a simple bike ride, which should cause no problems. But the adventure turns into a nightmare for Somerset. Problems multiply, but Somerset holds on; he knows that friendship can be won, like a crusade! A very entertaining book, with extremely amusing illustrations.
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MONSIEUR SOLEIL |
One morning, Antoine’s big brother Olivier decides to get off their bus at a new stop - a decision which is going to completely change their boring lives. Near the "super special" pastry shop ("pralîîîne et caramêêl") where they end up, Antoine makes the acquaintance of an extraordinary little man. Suspense is created. This captivating story reflects the freshness and spontaneity of a child’s vision of the world. Marie-Louise Gay’s drawings add sunshine to a luminous text through which we happily follow the hero.
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PAS DE BÉBÉ POUR BABETTE |
A laying hen ought to honour her line of foremothers by laying her quota of eggs each day. But not poor Babette, who despairs of laying at least one egg to make an omelet for the farmer to feast on. With the help of her fellow hens and distant family members, she will finally demonstrate all her motherly talents. Younger and older readers alike will enjoy examining the oversized illustrations to discover amusing details.
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UN PETIT GOÛT DE MIEL |
What do you think of candy floss as hairstyling foam after a day at the circus? It’s practical enough for Léa, who has hair like a princess. Her voluminous hair provides the ideal place for bees seeking a hive to make their honey. You lack imagination if you think a pair of scissors will solve the problem of Léa’s tangled mane. The author proposes a more fanciful solution, which you will discover in this short story that will raise more than one smile. The humour in the softly coloured illustrations will add to the enjoyment.
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PREMIER BOULOT POUR MOMO DE SINRO |
Momo (Maurice Monette’s nickname) lives in a small, quiet village and has one passion: in-line skates. In fact, it’s more than a passion; it’s an obsession. Since he doesn’t have any, and they are too expensive for his mother to buy, he’ll have to work to get a pair. However, if he works all summer, he’ll have the money to buy them in September. But then he won’t have time to enjoy them. His neighbour, Mr. Pacossi, offers him a job: he can paint his gazebo. But is this suitable work for a boy of his age? This is a novel full of freshness that will make you smile.
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PRINCESSE PISTACHE |
On her birthday, Pistache Soulier discovers a mysterious letter under her bed, revealing a secret which she has long suspected. She is, in reality, a princess - a Papuan princess. But one does not become a princess overnight without consequences! How to prove to her "adoptive" parents and her friends, who make fun of her, that she was really born on a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean and that this mixup is the fault of a frightful witch? Marie-Louise Gay succeeds, once again, in giving us a story full of humour and tenderness. Her always-magnificent illustrations are an invitation to rediscover the marvellous world of childhood.
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RIRA BIEN... |
A little caterpillar who dreams of flying becomes the laughingstock of her friends, the farm animals, when she reveals her plan. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up one morning... metamorphosed, with superb wings. The text, in quatrains, is stimulating to read to yourself or aloud. The conclusion is predictable, but the illustrations invite dialogue. The drawings are full of humorous details, and it is amusing to follow the little mice and the woodpecker, who are rivals in ingenuity from page to page. A pleasant book to read and enjoy.
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SI J’ÉTAIS UN ANIMAL |
Big questions generally begin with if.... If I were smarter, prettier, etc. And if I were an animal, what would happen? If you are curious, this humorous book is for you. An animal’s life is not as simple as we think, and children will discover with pleasure that there are always two sides to a coin. Benoît Laverdière’s illustrations are full of small, amusing details which add to the pleasure of reading.
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SOPHIE PREND LES GRANDS MOYENS |
What is worse than not having anything nice to wear to school? On the advice of her friend Clémentine, and with her brothers Laurent and Julien as allies, Sophie prepares a diabolical plan to ensure that she will be able to get new clothes. And thanks to Clémentine again, Sophie will use her gifts as a magician to make sure her grandmother doesn’t.... But let’s not give it away. Sophie is at it again, and her fans will be pleased to see her. In this book, two series of events ultimately come together in a learning experience. Marie-Louise Gay’s recognizable pen strokes bring Sophie to life under our happy eyes.
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TROIS PUNAISES CONTRE DEUX GÉANTS |
For young readers who like to relax by enjoying themselves and without complicating their lives, here is an easy to understand comical story. Fred’s grandmother has come from Vancouver to take care of the children, while the house and fish shop are being renovated. Fred is very happy to have such an energetic and original grandmother, with whom he can have extraordinary adventures. But he is prouder still to have a police cat who can defend her in undesirable situations.
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ZOÉ ET LES PETITS DIABLES |
Zoé is the unluckiest of little girls. Fate seems to take malicious pleasure in dumping on her - until the day when she discovers a vast conspiracy of little horned and petty devils who amuse themselves by persecuting the entire world. There are all sorts of them: devils that bite tongues, devils that cause sunburn, and even those that scrape knees. Will Zoé manage to capture them and teach them all good manners? Sylvain Trudel has written a surprisingly humour-filled little novel that will make us forget our small misfortunes.
