Nicholas Again - Hardcover

Goscinny, Rene; Sempé, Jean-Jacques

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714845647 ISBN 13: 9780714845647

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2006

Synopsis

Nicholas Again is the second in a series of five books about a young schoolboy who is amusing, endearing and always in trouble. Written by the author of Asterix, René Goscinny, and featuring witty illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist, Jean-Jacques Sempé, this book brings to life the adventures and exploits of Nicholas and his friends. Whether at school or at home, the children are caught up in a series of hilarious escapades that always result in confusion – at least for their teachers and parents. This classic book, still a best-seller in France more than forty years after it was first published, is now available in English to be read, reread and loved forever.

About this title

About the Author

Jean-Jacques Sempé (b.1932) is one of the world's most successful illustrators and cartoonists. He is the illustrator of the classic children's-book character, Nicholas, and author of a collection of some thirty albums of his cartoons and graphic novels, all published or to be published by Phaidon. His world-renowned illustrations and cartoons are featured on the cover of the New Yorker and in Paris Match.

René Goscinny (1926 - 1977) is the world-famous writer and creator, along with Albert Uderzo, of the adventures of Asterix the Gaul. Born in Paris, Goscinny lived in Buenos Aires and New York before returning to France in the 1950s where he met Jean-Jacques Sempé. They collaborated on picture strips and then stories about Nicholas, the popular French schoolboy. An internationally successful children's author who also won awards for his animated cartoons, Goscinny died in 1977.

Anthea Bellwas awarded the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize (USA) in 2002 for her translation of W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz. Her many works of translation from French and German (for which she has received several other awards) include the Nicholas books and, with Derek Hockridge, the entire Asterix the Gaul saga by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

Reviews

Gr. 3-5. Irrepressible French schoolboy Nicholas returns in this follow-up to 2006 Batchelder Honor book Nicholas (2005)--the first two of five existing books to be affectionately translated by Bell, none of which have been previously available in the U.S. In brief, stand-alone vignettes punctuated with line drawings by New Yorker illustrator Sempe, Nicholas continues to tussle with his gang of elementary-school pals, exasperate Old Spud and other school officials, and obliviously push his parents' buttons. The sophisticated-looking cloth format may be difficult for some young readers to get past, as will a few dated references (Asterix creator Goscinny originated this character in the 1950s). There are also elements that seem out of place in an illustrated chapter book, including humor drawn from adult-world dynamics and one insult translated as "feeble-ass." Readers who enthusiastically tackle American novels about mischievous elementary school kids may not be quite up to this worldlier French version, but they'll certainly enjoy hearing the silliest tales read aloud, and chapter-a-day sharing may help gather an audience among slightly older children, too. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright Š American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0714845647
• ISBN 13: 9780714845647
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 120