"Capitain Rosalie" - a bookwrap

Say hello to Rosalie.  Day after day she sits at the back of a classroom and draws pictures in her notebook.  She hides in plain sight under the coat hooks. But in reality she is on a mission. In her heart she know that she is not just 5 year old Rosalie but she really is Captain Rosalie. She is a soldier on a mission and is spying on the enemy.  She is preparing a plan.  This is her story.  Enjoy.

Unwrapping

Captain Rosalie

Authored by Timothée de Fombelle

Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Translated by Sam Gordon

* Ages:  9-12

* Grade Level:  4-7

* Hardcover:  64 pages

* Publisher:  Walker Books Ltd.

* Pub. Date:  Nov. 1, 2018

* Language:  English

Praise

The bright red hair of Rosalie and her mother seems to glow in the gray, wintry light of Arsenault’s village scenes, likewise offering hints of life and warmth even in the face of terrible loss…A spare tale likely to engender deep, complex responses.

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This eloquent, heart-wrenching story, of a little girl whose father is away fighting at the front in The Great War, comes from French playwright Timothée de Fombelle, author of acclaimed "Toby Alone" and its sequel and other novels for children.

—Buffalo News

De Fombelle quietly but movingly evokes the complicated emotions of both Rosalie, who’s proud of and scared for her father, and her mother, who’s struggling to keep it together…Arsenault’s soft, shadowy illustrations, both spot and full-bleed pages, cultivate a rich sense of place and contribute to the thoughtful emotional tenor of this WWI story.

- Booklist

Unwrapping some illustrations for you 

Unwrapping the story

This historical fiction book will remain in your heart long after the last page has been read.  

 Five and a half year old Rosalie's daddy is a soldier fighting in the First World War.  Her mom is now employed in a factory and Rosalie is too old to go to the nanny's so her mother drops her off in the deserted school yard every morning before she goes to work.   She awaits the arrival of the teacher at seven o'clock who lets her in the school and keeps an eye on her until her mother's return that evening.  She is placed at the back of the room under the coat hooks, given a notebook and some pencils and that's where she spends her day... drawing, listening and observing.  

But Rosalie has other plans as to why she is paying so close attention.  Her mother shares her father's letters from the front lines with her some evenings.  The special words he sends keeps their love alive and gives his daughter hope that he will return to his beloved little girl as soon as the war is over. 

One day a letter arrives that her mother doesn't read to her.  It's a letter that will change both of their lives forever.  The author injects a dose of reality into the reader's heart of how cruel and final war can actually be. This reality has no up-side and always leaves a trail of brokenness, grief and despair.    

The illustrations are muted and gray.  The illustrator has added a touch of colour:  Rosalie's red hair, her soft pink scarf and a colourful blanket that she and her mom curled up under on a snowy day when they were snowed in.   It is a sad book that holds a valuable life lesson ... war can have very dire consequences.  I love the book and highly recommend it.  

Storywraps Rating - 5 +++ HUGS!!!!

Meet the author

As a child... 

Timothee de Fombelle was born in the heart of Paris in 1973, but often accompanied his architect father on his travels to Africa. Each summer his family left for the countryside (the west of France), where the five brothers and sisters lived like wild horses, making huts in the trees, playing in the river and losing themselves in the woods. In the evening they performed plays for their parents and devoured the books in the library. Childhood remains for him the lost paradise which he re-discovers through writing. 

As an adult... 

After becoming a literature teacher, Timothee taught in Paris and Vietnam before choosing the bohemian life of the theatre. Author of a dozen plays, he writes, designs, builds sets and directs the actress he admires the most, his wife Laetitia. They have a young daughter, Jeanne Elisha, who already loves climbing trees. Toby Alone is his first novel and has already been translated into 22 languages. 

As an artist... 

Passionate about books and theatre, Timothee has been writing since he was young. The stage has been his testing ground but it is life, with its joys and trials, which inspires his real work. A great traveller, Timothee recognises that the writing of Toby Alone has been his best journey so far. 

About the illustrator

Isabelle Arsenault was born in 1978 in Sept-Iles, Quebec. After studies in Fine Arts and Graphic Design, she specialized in illustration. Quickly, she gained recognition from the industry and her peers through several awards from major international illustration contests such as Communication Arts, American Illustration and Applied Arts. In 2005, she won the prestigious Governor General's Literary Award for the illustration of her first children's book, Le Coeur de Monsieur Gauguin. Her passion for children's imaginations allows her to produce images that appeal to young readers as well as older ones. Through children's illustration she gives life to her own childhood dreams and in doing so, she hopes to inspire upcoming generations. Isabelle Arsenault now lives in Montreal, Quebec.

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