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Summary
Summary
From the author of War Horse comes a gentle, evocative story of a young city boy's summer in 1960s rural Provence.
When Yannick learns that he is to stay with his aunt Mathilde and her family in the South of France, he cannot believe his luck. He has rarely been out of Paris, and if the paintings in his mother's beloved Cézanne book are to be believed, surely Provence is paradise itself. So begins an idyllic month for the young city boy: roaming the gentle hills and rolling valleys and daydreaming about his beautiful cousin Amandine; helping at his aunt and uncle's bustling village inn; feeling that he has come to the most wonderful place in the world. But one evening the spell is broken when an important local comes for dinner and Yannick accidentally destroys a precious drawing the man leaves behind. How can the devastated Yannick make things right again -- and what surprising discoveries might come of it?
Author Notes
British author Michael Morpurgo was born in St. Albans, Hertforshire in 1943. He attended the University of London and studied English and French. He became a primary school teacher in Kent for about ten years. He and his wife Clare started a charity called Farms for City Children. They currently own three farms where over 2000 children a year stay for a week and experience the countryside by taking part in purposeful farmwork.
He has published over 100 books and several screenplays. He won the 1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Wreck of the Zanzibar, the 1996 Nestle Smarties Book Prize for The Butterfly Lion, and the 2000 Children's Book Award for Kensuke's Kingdom. Private Peaceful won the 2005 Red House Children's Book Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Five of his books have been made into movies and two have been adapted for television. He was named as the third Children's Laureate in May 2003.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a story first published in 2006, Morpurgo (War Horse) takes advantage of the ever-popular setting and culture of Provence. Ten-year-old Yannick is sent from Paris to his uncle's inn in the south of France so his mother can convalesce. He promptly falls for his beautiful but icy older cousin, Amandine, and starts helping out at the inn's restaurant, where one of the regulars, "the most famous painter in the world," often leaves an appreciative sketch on a paper tablecloth. When Yannick throws one into the fire, Amandine is livid. Adult readers will recognize Picasso's iconic striped jersey and bald head, but Yannick does not. His mother had told him about the immortal Cezanne and his relationship with Provence, and the boy naturally assumes the artist in the restaurant is he. Only the most cultivated readers will understand Yannick's charming mistake without some priming. Morpurgo's habit of telling rather than showing ("She did not mince her words") and the story's thin characterizations keep this from top-drawer status, but fans, foodies, and Francophiles will be beguiled. Place's relaxed pencil and watercolor paintings, meanwhile, certainly invoke the palette of Cezanne's Provence. Ages 7-10. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Because his mother is ill, a young boy is sent to stay with relatives in the south of France (where his beloved Cezanne painted) and has a chance encounter with Picasso. This novella, illustrated with warm pencil and watercolor art, is a quiet, well-told story of a boy finding his voice in a strange but beautiful new environment. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A sweet slice of life in 1960s Provence. Former British Children's Laureate Morpurgo reunites with the talented illustrator of the 2004 commemorative U.K. edition of his now-classic War Horse in this stand-alone short story drawn from the admired collection Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew (2009). When Yannick's mother is scheduled for surgery, she arranges for him to stay at her sister's family inn in Provence, preparing him for the trip with a book about post-impressionist Paul Czanne, a native of Provence. Arriving in Provence, Yannick begins working evenings in the restaurant with his warm aunt Mathilde, his bustling, kind uncle Bruno and his vivacious, impatient older cousin Amandine. Days, he freely roams the hills, immersing himself in the glorious region that Czanne so evocatively captured. When a man noised about as a "great painter" comes to dine, Yannick mistakenly destroys the drawing the artist leaves behind as payment. Crushed by this error, he visits the artist's chteau in order to secure a replacement drawing from the man he thinks is Czanne. However, it is kindly, bald, striped-shirted Picasso who comes to the rescue. Savvy art lovers will have already guessed the painter's identity, as the restaurant is decorated with similar drawings left in payment by this most famous diner. Place's full-color paintings bring Yannick's sojourn to life. Art lovers of all ages will find this charming read-aloud as delicious a treat as a serving of crme brle. (Fiction. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When Yannick's mother becomes ill, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle at their inn in Provence. He is reluctant to leave Paris, but once his mother tells him that Cezanne loved painting there, Yannick is lured by the prospect of seeing for himself the landscapes that inspired the greatest painter in the world. Yannick spends his time in idyllic Provence working in the kitchen, wandering around the beautiful town, and daydreaming of the artist his mother loves so much. When a famous painter comes to their restaurant and Yannick accidentally throws away the drawing he scribbled on the paper tablecloth, he follows him back to his chateau to ask for another drawing. Is it Cezanne? Savvy readers who note both a distinctly iconic striped shirt and the time period conveyed in Place's soft and lovely watercolor illustrations will already know it is not Cezanne. However, younger readers unfamiliar with the artist presented will be surprised by the ending to Morpurgo's affectionate story of a young boy away from home.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2010 Booklist
