This review quote is very significant because Kirkus have given Gus Gordon a STAR review!
Look at each part of these comments:
elegant language - "you are a marvel"; "crème brûlées to be eaten"; "he wrote a carefully considered reply"; "it zigzagged out to sea".
You will even find a quote, in French, from the Victor Hugo poem 'Demain, des l'Aube'. The line in Finding Francois says: "Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit."
Here is the full verse from the poem and one possible translation:
Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit,
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,
Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.
I will walk the eyes fixed on my thoughts,
Without seeing anything outside, nor hearing any noise,
Alone, unknown, the back curved, the hands crossed,
Sad, and the day for me will be like the night.endearing characters:
Alice Bonnet does so many things that make me smile. She collects buttons, she loves to draw and read, and crème brûlée is one of her favourite foods. Alice is lonely but she is a girl of action. She does not sit around feeling sad she writes a letter and puts it in a bottle. An astute reader may have already guessed she might do this because Alice has been reading a book entitled "Message in a Bottle."
Francois Poulin is also a truly special boy not least because he has such interesting hobbies. Just like Alice, he loves writing lists; reading books and drawing. "But Francois also loved dancing, and wearing funny hats and origami, and garlic butter and flower arranging."
Irresistible images: Gus Gordon loves to collage little pieces of vintage books into his illustrations. They become tiny precious fragments that are a delight to discover. The kitchen table, for example, is filled with treasures. Take a look at the art work especially the circular paintings in the lighthouse kitchen. You will also see an image inspired by famous painting The Great Wave of Kanagawa. Make sure you read the titles on every book cover - they are all very significant. Oh and I do need to mention the end papers (thanks Gus) which are filled with all shapes and sizes of bottles waiting for those letters.
My two favourite things in this book are the way the messages in the bottles travel to Francois over and over again and the way replies always come back to Alice even though the journey is filled with hazards. I am also thrilled that Francois lives in a lighthouse because, if you have been reading my blog over the years, you will know I adore lighthouses - they are my happy place.
How lucky are our Australian children to see, touch and hear such a beautiful book which has clearly been crafted with love and care. Yes the setting for this story is perhaps Paris but make sure you look for the koala Gus has included. This made me smile and recall the koala we saw in Herman and Rosie. Perhaps they are related? For more details about this book you could check out this review. US editions of this book also have a subtitle: A Story about the Healing Power of Friendship.
Grab a cup of tea and a home made baked lemon muffin and sit down with your own precious child ready to share this truly special book today!
Here is my favourite quote from this book:
"Over time, the dark clouds slowly packed up their things and shuffled into the distance, and the sun sprang forth from wherever it was hiding."
I adore the idea of putting a letter or a precious object in a bottle. I would pair Finding Francois with In a Jar by Deborah Marcero and Junebug by Alice Mead.
Make sure you look for some other books by Gus Gordon too, such as Somewhere Else; Wendy; Herman and Rosie; and The Last Peach.
Surely Finding Francois will be selected for the 2021 Children's Book Council of Australia short list. YES it is THAT good!
Gus Gordon shared his book this week on Instagram by asking his friends (famous Australian authors and illustrator such as Ursula Dubosarsky and Leigh Hobbs) to read his book!
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