Catherine Certitude

A read-aloud for children from Patrick Modiano, a Nobel Prize winner in literature. “A quirky and utterly charming chapter book in picture-book format, with the famed illustrator Sempe's radiant and adorable illustrations.”―Booklist

In this enchanting picture book about intangible memories, Catherine Certitude, a dancer in Paris, reminisces about her childhood. She remembers living with her dreamer of a father―whose storefront ‘package business’ may have been a smuggling operation, her American mother's letters from the States (‘Sometimes Mama made spelling mistakes’), her ballet lessons with a tragic woman who feigns a Russian accent, and her father's humiliation at a society party where he pathetically pretends to be rich (‘His brown suit clashed with everyone else’s light, summery clothes’).

As Publishers Weekly said, “This lovely book suggests the delicacy and strength of an eggshell. It demands a nuanced understanding of the past (‘We always stay the same, and the people we have been in the past go on living until the end of time,’ muses Catherine) and human foibles.” An enriching read-aloud experience for you and your child.

Patrick Modiano was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature for a body of work that includes Missing Person and Honeymoon (both published by Godine).