My Valley

by Claude Ponti

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Pub Date Mar 07 2017 | Archive Date Jan 27 2017

Archipelago Books | Elsewhere Editions

Children's Fiction

Description

In My Valley, Claude Ponti leads us on a journey through an enchanted world inhabited by "Touims" (tiny, adorable, monkey-like creatures), secret tree dwellings, flying buildings, and sad giants. Clever language and beautifully detailed maps of imaginary landscapes will delight children and adults alike. Ponti himself has said, "My stories are like fairytales, always situated in the marvelous, speaking to the interior life and emotions of children. That way each child can get what they want out of the images: the characters and dreams are their own."

In My Valley, Claude Ponti leads us on a journey through an enchanted world inhabited by "Touims" (tiny, adorable, monkey-like creatures), secret tree dwellings, flying buildings, and sad giants...

Advance Praise

"A mix of comical vignettes and broad vistas illustrate an account of the lives and misadventures of a clan of tiny Twims.... Action with immersive, full-page or larger land- and seascapes that seem to go on forever while offering multitudinous crags, glades and foreground features to investigate. Like Poochie-Blue, visitors to the valley will be in no hurry to leave." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Claude Ponti, in my eyes, is one of the most essential authors in the whole of children's literature. His bursting creativity and the wealth of his images incite the almost systematic pleasure of children. The Pontian universe, with its many cultural and artistic references, its themes and its language distinctive of the world of childhood, its originality in its forms, colors, typography, and the arrangement of its scenes, presents an offering of narratives that strongly engage children's emotions and which meet them on the horizon of their expectations. Here children often find the power that a new piece of knowledge or the control of a word bring, and which allows them to influence their destiny just a little bit more." --Annie Dupin

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9780914671626
PRICE	$24.00 (USD)
PAGES	42

Additional Information

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Featured Reviews

Sarah P, Reviewer

The illustrations are beautiful. I loved the image of the tree, with all the descriptions, and the map. This is a world to get lost in.

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Lisbeth D, Reviewer

This is an absolutely beautiful book; the prose (cleverly translated by Alyson Waters) and illustrations combine to create a beguiling world in which to totally immerse yourself.

The English translation in print is due to be published in March 2017, I'm definitely going to wait to buy that for a birthday gift (8 year old grandson) rather than the digital version. I'm almost exclusively digital now but this is a book that needs to be held for long and short periods while a child's imagination soars.

[Fans of Tove Jansson's Moomins will love this and other books by Ponti, although sadly not many are translated into English yet.]

(I was lucky to receive an advance review copy of this book from Archipelago Books/Elsewhere Editions in exchange for an unbiased review.)