Thèmes: Books

Coup de théâtre à Stratford

Something strange is afoot at the Startford Theatre. During a production of The Merchant of Venice shadows and ghoulish screams heard backstage are terrifying the cast and crew. Could it be the return of the long forgotten curse of Shylock’s ghost? Junior gumshoes Vivi and Simon investigate!

The fourth book in the brand new L.O.U.P.E. series of mini mysteries.

Coup de théâtre à Stratford
L.O.U.P.E. – Tome 4
Written by Mireille Messier
Éditions David, 2025
186 pages
For readers 9+
17,95$
ISBN 9782898660382

You can order the book by clicking here or by visiting your favourite french indie bookstore!

Also available…

Coupe et soucoup à Sudbury

Nevin Knows

Nevin and his grandpa are heading to the park on a spring day, and Grandpa checks with Nevin about what shoes to wear.

Should he wear boots? NO! Sandals? NO! Slippers? NO! Running shoes? YES! YES! YES! Throughout the book, Grandpa lets Nevin choose which direction to walk in, what to play on at the park and, finally, what flowers to bring home for Nana. Nevin has fun getting to choose for himself, and he shows Grandpa that he might be little, but he knows a lot.

 

Nevin Knows
Orca Book Publisher, February 2025
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Elena Comte
32 pages

ISBN: 978-1-4598-3684-6
Hardcover
$21.95

Themes: self-cofidence, making choices, intergenerational relationships, seasons, going to the park, grand-parents, toddler
You can order this book by clicking here!
Or by visiting your favourite indie bookstore! 🙂
REVIEWS
“Perfectly mimics the experience of taking an independent toddler to the park, and the book will be enjoyed by children and the adults reading to them. Nevin Knows allows children to consider their own experiences of getting ready and walking to the park and is sure to become a favourite…Nevin Knows is engaging and enjoyable and is a perfect book to pair with a walk to the park. Recommended.”
– CM: Canadian Review of Materials
“Repetitive pattern puts Nevin, and readers, in charge or the days activities—an empowering choice sure to please the toddler set. Comte’s geometric artwork pairs well with the simple text. A delightful day in the life of a curious tot.”
– Kirkus
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

Coupe et soucoupe à Sudbury

Join Vivi & Simon as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of the Big Nickel Cup. Was the coveted hockey trophy stolen by a rival team? Their grandmother’s strange new boyfriend? Or maybe it was aliens?

Follow our intrepid gumshoes as they solve a third mystery, this time in the streets of Sudbury.

Written by Mireille Messier
Les éditions David, 2024
168 pages
9 & up
$16.95
ISBN: 978-2898-660177

• Buy this book now by clicking here!

Also available:

Déclic à Toronto

 

During a visit to the mysterious castle of Casa Loma, Vivi and Simon find an old miniature camera. Could this little gem have belonged to a spy? Only the clues in the salvaged photos will be able to tell the tale.

And so begins a story that will take the young reader on an extraordinary urban mystery through the streets of Toronto.

The second book in the brand new L.O.U.P.E. series of mini mysteries and adventures.

Written by Mireille Messier
Éditions David, 2024
174 pages
8 & up
$16.95
ISBN: 978-2-895-979845

Only available in French (for now… ;-))

Click here to order a copy of this book. Or visit your favourite french indie book store!

Also available :

Une Twiga à Ottawa!

 


Discover Canada’s national capital in this comic urban safari starring Viviane & Simon, a young franco-ontarian brother and sister sleuthing team, and their mysterious TWIGA.

The first chapter book in the brand new L.O.U.P.E. series of mini mysteries and adventures.

Written by Mireille Messier
Éditions David, 2024
118 pages
For readers 8 & up
$16.95
ISBN: 978-2-895979838

Only available in French (for now… ;-))

Click here to order a copy. Or visit your favourite french indie children’s bookstore.

Also available:

The Magic Cap

Many moons ago, in a tiny, thatched cottage at the edge of the woods,lived two children named Isaura and Arlo with their hedgehog, Crispin. When their beloved pet becomes ill, Isaura suggests that they seek the magical healing

power of gnomes. Convinced this will heal it, the children set off into the woods with humble offerings, hoping to attract the gnomes. The trick does not seem to work, however, and gnomes are nowhere to be seen despite the children’s good intentions.

The Magic Cap
Milky Way Picture Books, May 2023
Story Mireille Messier
Illustrations Charlotte Parent
48 pages

ISBN : 9781990252211
Hardcover
$23.99 (CAD) / $18.99 (USD)

Themes: fairytale, magic, friendship, siblings, gnomes, forest, animals
Purchase this book by clicking here!
Or by visiting your local, indie children’s bookstore 🙂
Now available in spanish and catalan!
Italian version available soon!

No Horses in the House!: The Audicious Life of Artist Rosa Bonheur

Based on the incredible life of the pioneering, feminist and queer artist Rosa Bonheur, this charming story depicts Rosa’s early years and her drive to fight for her dreams.

Rosa Bonheur loved to draw animals. She was good at it too! Unfortunately, in nineteenth-century France, girls were not allowed to be artists. But Rosa didn’t let that stop her. In this fictionalized account of her early life in Paris, Rosa studies art at home, bringing a menagerie of animals into the apartment to study up close. When she is kicked out of the horse market for sneaking in wearing boys clothing, Rosa must think creatively to challenge the rules in pursuit of her dream of becoming a world-class realist painter and artist.

No Horses in the House!: The Audacious Life of Artist Rosa Bonheur
Orca Book Publisher, March 2023
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Anna Bron
32 pages

ISBN: 9781459833524
Hardcover
$21.95

Themes: artist biography, gender roles, girls can do anything, animal painting, horses, Art History, France, 19th century, perseverence
You can order this book by clicking here!
Or by visiting your favourite indie bookstore! 🙂
Download the No Horses in the House! poster.

Download the No Horses in the House! Discussion Guide.

REVIEWS
“A story of female empowerment and persistence…a fun and wonderful book of courage and endurance against the odds. Highly Recommended.”

– CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“Readers will revel in the lifelike animal paintings…The artwork here sprawls beautifully across spreads, showing…a tiny but confident Rosa surrounded by naysayers as well as her beloved animals, potential creations swirling around the scenes as they pour from her mind.”
– Booklist
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
2024 Short Listed for the IODE Jean Throop Award
2023 Finalist (Honour Book) for the Prix Peuplier, Forest of Reading (French awards)

Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart

Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart is based on the true story of how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world’s most remarkable musicians, was inspired by one of the world’s most unremarkable birds: a starling.

In this charming picture book, author Mireille Messier tells the story of a very special relationship and how it began: with a chance musical encounter. And Matte Stephens’s playful art captures both the grandeur of 18th century Vienna and the budding unlikely friendship between a famous musician and a humble starling.

Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart
Tundra, October 2022
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Matte Stephens
36 pages

ISBN: 9780735266896
Hardcover
$23.99

Themes : Classical music, bird, pet, friendship, inspiration, History, true story, biography
You can order this book by clicking here! Or by visiting your favourite indie bookstore 🙂

Reviews

“In 18th-century Vienna, a starling explores and replicates the noises she hears all around her. She mimics sounds from the streets, animal calls, and even human speech. For a time, she perches in a tree outside the window of a musician and his family. When the starling is captured and taken to a pet shop, she becomes despondent and loses her song. But soon she is bought and taken home by the very musician whose window she used to frequent—none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The narrative draws inspiration from the true story of Mozart’s purchase of a pet starling and his transcription of the bird’s song, eerily similar to one of his unpublished compositions. Where music historians differ on their explanations of this mystery, Messier posits a charming prior connection between man and bird. She characterizes the bird with winning details, including its repeated use of the German-accented onomatopoeia “Piep!” Stephens provides cheerful poster-colored paintings in a naive style, solid shapes, and loosely drawn lines suggesting facial expressions and environmental details. He injects subtle humor into the nooks and crannies of the story, particularly the face of the dyspeptic bird catcher and the starling’s casual soiling of the piano in front of Mozart’s dismayed student. VERDICT This is an endearing piece of historical fiction, and perhaps an early entry point into Mozart’s oeuvre.”

School Library Journal

“Launching from legends about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s musically precocious starling, Messier imagines an origin story for the pet, a fresh entry point into the life of an icon of Western classical music. Exploring Vienna, a starling chick imitates springtime sounds before perching outside Mozart’s window, his music “more beautiful than anything she had ever heard.” When a bird-catcher cages her, her chirping of a memorable tune finds the ear of its composer and (…) inspires a lengthy creative collaboration. Messier’s Vienna burbles with German-language sounds, including a cat’s “miau” and a townsperson’s “Guten morgen,” providing opportunities for readers to imitate along with the starling. Stephens renders high-contrast illustrations using unlined shapes to create simple, blocky figures portrayed with fanciful skin tones in whimsically off-kilter cityscapes. An author’s note concludes.”

Publisher Weekly

Tom-Aime-Tout

Tom loves everything!

Even the things that most kids do NOT love, like tofu and turtlenecks and dandelions and rainy days. These short, fun, rhyming poems are Tom’s perfect ode to the everyday unloved.

« Bonjour! Je suis Tom-Aime-Tout!
Car oui, en effet j’aime tout, tout TOUT!
Voici des poèmes que j’ai inventés
Pour célébrer certains mal-aimés!»

Tom-Aime-Tout
Éditions Tête Haute, August 2022
Text Mireille Messier
Illustrations Alice Lemelin
36 pages

ISBN: 978-2-924860-34-2
Soft cover
$13.95

Themes : Poetry, poem, ode, everyday, love, humour
Order this book by clicking here!
Or by visiting your favourite indie bookstore.

Je déteste les moustiques, mais…

Papy calls them skeeters.
Mom calls them mosquitoes.
I don’t call them at all.
But still they come and… I HATE THEM!

Mosquitoes do have a way of ruining nice summer evenings, but they are useful and important to the ecosystem.

Discover how and why mosquitoes are important for flowers, fish, frogs and bats. And maybe in other ways we haven’t even thought of yet!

Bzz-bzz-bzz!

Je déteste les moustiques, mais… (in French only, for now!)
Éditions de l’Isatis, collection Clin d’oeil, April 2022
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Catherine Petit
32 pages
3 +
ISBN : 978-2925-088615
Hardcover
$13.95

Themes : Insects, environement, nature, non-fiction, ecosystem
Order a copy of this book by clicking here! Or visit your favourite independent book sellers 🙂