Idriss and His Marble - Hardcover

Gouichoux, René

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1635921325 ISBN 13: 9781635921328

Publisher: Astra Young Readers, 2019

Synopsis

When war threatens their home, Idriss and his mother must flee. He clutches his lucky charm―a single marble―throughout their journey, walking over hazardous terrain, crawling under barbed wire, and sailing on a fragile little boat. Will the marble's luck help them avoid capture and bring them to the safety of a new world? A heartfelt tale exploring the perilous path refugees often walk to find a new home and the hope it takes to get them there.

About this title

About the Author:

René Gouichoux is a teacher and lives in Brittany, France. He wrote his first children's book in 1988 and has since written nearly 70 books.

Zaü published his first illustrated book in 1966 and has since illustrated many books for children. In 2011, he received the Grand Prix of Illustration for his work on Mandela, l'Africain Multicolore. He lives in France.

Review:

"This joins the corpus of recent publications about war's traumatizing effect on children. Here we meet Idriss, who lives―judging by the illustrations―in an African village. As the title implies, he has just one precious marble, and readers are invited to empathize with the delight he finds in playing with it. When violence threatens his village, Idriss and his mother flee, and the story shifts focus to let us see their resilience and hope in the face of their precarious lives. Whereas the narrative is tender and lyrical, Zaü's illustrations offer a striking contrast. Washes of watercolor in ochre and rose capture the bright desert heat while figures, shadows, and movement are rendered in sweeps of solid black ink. The intention, as with the marble itself, is to emphasize the simultaneous fragility and solidity of childhood, life, and the places we think of as home. Poignant, beautiful, and timely, this can be paired thematically with Wendy Meddour's Lubna and Pebble (2019) and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's Adrift at Sea (2016)."―Booklist

(Journal)

"This refugee story for younger readers follows Idriss, a boy of color who lives in a place where the ground is dry and sandy and the buildings are low and flat-roofed. He doesn't know just why he and his mother must leave and find a new place to live, but it has to do with the 'CRACKS and BOOMS' he can hear outside, where 'whispers turn to shouting.' Loose ink wash and earth-toned spreads by Zaü (Hazelnut Days) underscore the length of their journey as Idriss and his mother walk, ride, cross under barbed wire ('His mother is so graceful, weaving their bodies beneath the barbed wire as if she were dancing'), and board a boat. Throughout, Idriss holds on to his precious marble. Gouichoux (I Am Ivan Crocodile!) focuses on the way Idriss treasures his small, beautiful object, which he calls lucky; he clings to it, almost loses it, then gets it back. Readers will quickly grasp how caring for his precious possession is what sustains him in his flight across borders. And when Idriss reaches his new home, his marble is his passport to a new life and a new language."―Publishers Weekly

(Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: Astra Young Readers
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1635921325
• ISBN 13: 9781635921328
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Zau