10 children’s albums to slip under the tree – L’Express

By Angélique Villeneuve and Laeticia Le Saux. Blowpipe, €15.50.

For those who are afraid of monsters under their bed. From 4 years old.

Damn it, what a disappointment! After a thorough investigation, Albi the cat discovers that all the terrifying fairy tale characters have become nice people. While the big bad wolf swallows “softened zucchini and a radish tart”, the old witch turns out to be very flirtatious and the ghosts offer glasses of strawberry milk. Shivering with terror while listening to the evening’s story was, however, Albi’s favorite moment. He is disgusted, disappointed, revolted. As you are never better served than by yourself, he decides to transform himself into the Great Dreadful in order to terrorize the children in his turn but cleverly, cleverly and a half… With his illustrations in tender colors and his good dose humor, the ideal album for the evening story.

By Karen Hottois and Marie Mirgaine. Albin Michel Jeunesse, €17.90.

For the one who sends letters to Santa Claus. From 4 years old.

“Hello Perenoaile. This is me Petit-Bisssssecui…” So begins the letter to Santa Claus that the bear cub Petit-Biscuit decides to write, come winter, when he is bored all alone in his den. But our hero fears that Santa Claus will take offense at all his spelling mistakes. So he places a classified ad to hire a private secretary. The next day an earthworm shows up, in no hurry to get to work. As Petit-Biscuit observes: “The work of my private secretary begins with a day off.” The need to hire a second private secretary to support the first becomes obvious. A cohabitation then begins, and perhaps even a friendship… In this comforting album on the theme of meeting others and peppered, throughout the pages, with missives with fanciful spellings, we happily find the magic of Marie Mirgaine’s collages.

By Antoine Dole and Bruno Salamone. Actes Sud junior, €16.50.

For those who lack confidence in the playground. From 5 years old.

Disaster ! One of the most sympathetic creatures in children’s literature (five other stories already) is going through a real existential crisis. In The Closet Monster doesn’t like her butt! the creature becomes aware of its body and finds itself ugly. He doesn’t like anything about him: neither his nose, nor the alignment of his eyebrows, nor the shape of his cheeks. “He says nothing goes with nothing,” laments the little boy with whom he lives. That’s without counting the benevolent look of this one: “My monster doesn’t like his two little sharp teeth but they’re enough to get a bite out of life, and then, they’re the easiest to brush, presto, off to bed.” Bruno Salamone’s brightly colored and scribbled line illustrations illustrate each of the small scenes imagined by Antoine Dole (aka Mr Tan, the creator of Mortelle Adele), still just as hilarious.

By Clotilde Perrin. Kaleidoscope, €19.

For those who doubt their superpowers. From 5 years old.

In her new album, Clotilde Perrin pays tribute to all the little kids she has observed by drawing up an incredible catalog: the elastic child, the scribbling child, the ticking child… Everyone introduces themselves by describing with abundant details of his personality, his powers, his exploits: “Be careful who approaches me! I was born with wild hair, with sparkles in my eyes, I electrify my friends very easily, and then they go crazy! ” says the incredibly delusional electric child. It’s impossible not to recognize a specimen of your offspring among this crazy gallery of portraits. Behind the humor reveals a beautiful ode to childhood.

By Marie Desplechin and François Roca. The leisure school, €19.

For those who dream of the open sea. From 8 years old.

“Every day is the same on a boat. Water, water, water.” Leaning nonchalantly on the railing, little Pauline displays a pouting pout on the cover of the album dedicated to her story. Embarked on a luxurious liner, she is consumed with boredom and disappointment. Her billionaire father, who offered her this cruise, did not deign to make the trip with her and entrusted her to the care of a singer friend. Never mind, she begins writing a logbook for her father. Through this story, we find the insolent pen of Marie Desplechin (Pome, Le journal d’Aurore) with expressions that hit the mark in Pauline’s mouth. Even if it must be admitted: the little girl is a bit disingenuous. Between a friendship with the cabin boy, an unexpected encounter with a polar bear during a stopover, the rescue of the young King Baudouin, the adventure, magnificently illustrated by the clear lines of François Roca, each board of which can be contemplated like a master’s painting , is indeed there.

By Manon Bucciarelli. Gallimard Youth, €20.

For those who love to travel. From 8 years old.

What an enchantment for the eyes is this third documentary designed on the principle of seeking and finding by graphic designer Manon Bucciarelli. From Hong Kong to Mexico City via Bamako, it invites the young reader to visit 16 major cities by deploying on a double page dedicated to each one all the symbols – culinary specialties, festivals, neighborhoods, monuments, transport, street furniture – which make their reputation . In Miami, we find the fly’s eye or Domino Park while in Rio we discover the orelhoes (these ear-shaped telephone booths) and the Selaron staircase with its colorful mosaics. Visuals and riddles intertwine thanks to a superb layout which makes this world tour intoxicating.

By Rascal and Louis Joos. Pastel, €14.

For those who are fans of westerns. From 8 years old.

The narrator of this story is called Jack Bonham and is just 20 years old in the year 1884: “I was young, handsome and dashing!” A taxidermist by trade in a large natural history museum in the United States, he is sent to the plains of the Midwest to bring back some horns, pairs of hooves and bison skins when the extinction of the species is feared. But arriving at his destination after crossing the country on the “iron horse” and discovering the staggering number of herds already decimated, Jack questions the meaning of his mission and decides to give his journey a more noble turn. “As I speak to you, I am more happy and proud than ever,” concludes our hero. Rascal’s refined style, combined with the fascinating watercolors of Louis Joos, transforms this album into a wonderful initiatory and visual adventure.

By Natalia Baranowska, Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski. Gallimard Youth, €28.

For those who are most greedy. From 8 years old.

Every day, the same question resonates in your kitchen: “What are we eating this evening?” This is an XXL format book that should spice up the preparation of family meals. This documentary presents the food history of 26 countries around the world, explaining how climatic constraints, traditions or religions can shape culinary customs. Also a cookbook, it details step by step more than fifty emblematic recipes from these destinations. Papas rejellenas, Peruvian potato croquettes, Oum ali, Egyptian pudding or Tilslorte Bondepiker, Norwegian apple desserts, are simple enough to be made by your children: well done, you are holding the gift to hope to get your feet under the table in 2024!

By Guillaume Duprat. Saltimbanque, €19.90.

For those who philosophize. From 9 years old.

What is life? This is the question posed by this documentary which does not lack ambition. “Is it a strange chemical mixture? Is it the time that fills an existence, from birth to death? Where does it come from? How is it transmitted?” The work explores the facets of life in all directions: according to religions, according to sciences, by detailing the functioning of cells or the theory of evolution, according to geology… The transdisciplinary angle and the very varied visuals make the Fascinating words from cosmographer Guillaume Duprat.

By Jules Verne, illustrated by Frédéric Pillot. Blowgun, €29.90.

For those who are good readers. From 10 years old.

Who hasn’t dreamed of being stranded on a desert island while reading Two years of vacation ? Of course, this is an abridged version but it is nonetheless a real gem to offer to a child too young to tackle this classic by Jules Vernes. In 1860, off the coast of New Zealand, around fifteen boys, aged 8 to 14, all residents of the very chic Chairman establishment, struggled alone at sea in a storm. Of all the crew essential to maneuver the Sloughi, only the cabin boy remains on board. What happened ? The ship is ultimately shipwrecked on a deserted island in the Pacific. This is the start of two years during which the young Robinsons will have to learn to survive despite the dissensions within the group and the threat of bandits who arrive.