Common menu bar links

French Titles

		Le secret de la lanterne / Nibawasakonendjigan O Kimodji Tibadjimowin Louise Tondreau-Levert Illustrations: Élaine Côté Translation: Cécile Mapachee Saint-Damien-de-Brandon, Quebec: Éditions du soleil de minuit, 2003. 24 p. (Album du crépuscule) ISBN 2922691284 Ages 4 to 8
Le secret de la lanterne / Nibawasakonendjigan O Kimodji Tibadjimowin Source

This picture book, part folk tale, part legend, is about a little girl whose grandmother Colombe tells her about the secret of the lantern. "Once upon a time," the grandmother said one stormy night, "my mother Marie-Ange wanted to take the lantern to meet my father who was late getting home. On her way, a strange thing happened at the edge of the woods. The flame, trapped inside the lantern, began to dance, and in a single bound, leapt from the globe, darting in and out among the trees. In an instant, the entire forest was lit up like a crystal chandelier. At the same time, at the other end of the forest, a man named Tagouannissi came to the aid of Marie-Ange's husband, Fernand." As the story progresses, the reader learns that Tagouannissi, an Aboriginal man, becomes an extraordinary friend.

Louise Tondreau-Levert describes the friendships between colonists and Aboriginal people at the beginning of the 20th century. The large pastel drawings by Élaine Côté offer a traditional perspective of the many historical characters.

–IB

Previous Table of Contents Next