The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef by Sophie Masson illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

Cakes, a love story, kindness and destiny - perfect ingredients for a delicious BOOK! (oh and did I mention cake - do not read this book when you are hungry).

Lucas lives in a small, possibly French, town by the sea. He is so lucky because his aunt Violette owns a cake shop. He can sample the cakes and even help to make them, but more importantly, Lucas is a boy with well-developed emotional intelligence. He can see that even though Violette has bright eyes and a sharp sense of humour she somehow also seems a little sad. 

"Sometimes Lucas helped: stirring, mixing, whipping. And Violette would tell Lucas stories about when she was young."

And as well as emotional intelligence Lucas is a good listener. 

Lucas also loves to visit his friend - the fishmonger who works in the busy market. 

"Cyprien (was) a large, shy man with kind eyes and wild hair under his old beret. Some days Lucas helped: wraping, mopping, rearranging. And Cyprien would tell Lucas stories about when he was young."

But like Violette, Cyprien's eyes looked a little sad.

Notice the way Sophie Masson has constructed the two sentences above - a variation on the words.

Cyprien is shy. He does visit the cake shop but he is never brave enough to stay for long. Lucas encourages Violette and Cyprien to share their favourite memories and by happy chance Lucas recognises these memories are linked. All he has to do is find a way to bring these two people together.

I am certain The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef will be a CBCA 2026 notable Picture Book title and possibly even on the shortlist. You could borrow this book from your local or school library but even better the beautiful book design, tactile cover, gentle colour palette, delightful illustrations of cakes and the warmth of this sweet love story make this a book you will want own or perhaps give as a gift at Christmas.

The art in this book by Cheryl Orsini is truly special - I have been a fan of her work for a long time.

Just OH MY!! This is simply an absolutely beautiful treasure from every angle. Just so Stories

This is a charming little matchmaking tale nestled inside the comforts of friendship, glorious memories and delicious food! ... the real stars of the book are the different kinds of French food. Both Masson and Orsini and pour their passion onto the page and Lucas is the embodiment of that. Readers will look at the pastry shop with the "berets Basques with chocolate tops, tartes aux fraises, glossy with strawberries, and gateaux Russe, resplendent with hazelnut meringue and coffee cream" and lick their lips then turn the page and be bombarded with a buffet of "crusty bread and salty ham, wheels of cheese and spears of asparagus, and bright red peppers, tomatoes and cherries ... silvery shoals of fish, spiky squads of lobsters ..."  Buzz Words

Companion books:

The Truck Cat

Herman and Rosie

Love in the Library

‘The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef’ has to be one of my favourite picture books of the year. It is absolutely gorgeous. Sophie Masson knows how to tell a tale and this is a beautiful tale about two people who connect. Indeed, it’s a sweet and romantic tale that is perfectly paced and perfectly structured. And the artwork by Cheryl Orsini is exquisite. ... This is the perfect gift for young ones." Paul Macdonald

Escargot by Dashka Slater illustrated by Sydney Hanson

"Bonjour! I see you are staring at me! I don't mind. My name is Escargot, and I am such a beautiful French snail that every stares at me."

Did you see my post about the Eric Carle exhibition featuring books that 'break the fourth wall'? That's where I saw this book mentioned and so this week I borrowed two from the series (actually there are three) and I fell in love with cheeky little Miss Escargot.

I love the way she speaks directly to the reader:

"Right now, I am traveling to the salad at the end of this book. It is a beautiful salad, with croutons and a light vinaigrette. You should come! I just need a little push to help me start."

She even invites you to give her a little kiss! 

And she explains why she should be your favourite animal. Also you do need to know it is very important to never put any carrot in a salad. Oh no by the end of the book you and Escargot do arrive at the salad with a few croutons and a light vinaigrette but oh no it contains carrot!

Watch out for the slime covered end papers! Read more on the author web page. There is a plush toy of little Escargot - it would be such fun to own this in your preschool or prep library. A couple of the titles are also available as Board Books. 

The spare but cheekily charming prose will make children and parents smile, and the refined watercolor illustrations will easily draw in readers. Everything is very chic and understated, as is befitting this continental French snail. Once you finish, children will want it read again, giving you the perfect chance to refine your French pronunciation. The Children's Book Review

This book begs to be read aloud - I wish I had been able to do that in my former school library. It was published in 2017 but the good news is all three books are still available. 

These books should be added to your library shelves - they are sure to be SO popular or if you see one of these in library grab it quickly and take it home to share with your young reading companions. 

I am not surprised to see that Escargot won a Wanda Gag Read aloud award. I said there are three books in this series but I now discover the fourth book - Escargot and the search for Spring. I am not sure if it is available yet. Here is a lesson plan for using Escargot to talk about persuasion. 

REVIEWS

Love Escargot "Breaking right through the fourth wall, the stylish snail encourages readers to embrace their snail selves . . . Sweet art means that when Escargot winsomely tells readers, 'You can kiss me if you like,' it’ll be hard for them to pass up the chance...  Though love and snails rarely go together, it’s easy to be won over by this mighty mollusk." Kirkus

Anatole by Eve Titus illustrated by Paul Galdone

Anatole (1956) is a classic children's picture book. It received a Caldecott Honor in 1957. I wonder why I had not read it until this week? I have discovered there were originally ten Anatole adventures. I found a little film from the 1960s of Anatole.  Paul Galdone illustrated hundreds of picture books. You can see some of them here. He died in 1986. Eve Titus (1922-2002) is the author of another junior chapter book series with eight titles - Great Mouse Detective.

About Anatole:

Anatole overhears some people talking about mice. They are considered dirty and are despised. Anatole thinks of the perfect solution - a way to reverse this negative opinion of mice. He makes some small signs and visits the Duval Cheese Factory.

Anatole has appointed himself as the chief cheese taster. He is a mouse after all and therefore he is an expert on the subject of cheese. The factory adopt Anatole's suggestions and the cheese factory business booms. M'sieu wants to thank Anatole. Of course Anatole knows his identity must remain a secret. M'sieu write a letter to Anatole:

"Whoever you are, it is clear that you love cheese greatly. Please help yourself to all the cheese you like, as often as you like. ...
Anatole - we salute You! 
From now on we shall think of you fondly as:
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF CHEESE-TASTING!"

I smiled from start to finish reading this book. No wonder it is still in print over sixty years since it was first published.

I would pair Anatole with two other very old books which sadly are long out of print - Aktil's Big Swim and Aktil's Bicycle Ride by Inga Moore. Older children might like to compare Anatole with Letters from A. Mouse by Herbie Brennan.