A whole cook book on chocolate

by Alain Serres, ill. by Nathalie Novi
Childhood, chocolate and imagination: three ingredients that complement each other with pleasure in this large picture book, designed with warm colours. There are 40 recipes: sweet and salty, from the essential fondant and brownies to surprising innovations, such as litchis au gratin with bitter chocolate. Together with background information on the history and the culture of chocolate, each spread also includes an original short story to take us into the imaginative, delightful world of chocolate. Children will want to stick their fingers in it, but every chocolate lover, regardless of age, will want to savour it and return to it!
64 pages, 28 x 35 cm, 8 years +
Mention at the Bologna Ragazzi Awards 2007
Rights sold: Spanish (world)

A cook book as big as a garden

by Alain Serres, ill. by Martin Jarrie
A unique way to discover fruits and vegetables differently and cook fantastic recipes: ginger-chocolate litchi brochette, puzzling tomato salad, Garriguette strawberries with fresh garlic or Christmas spices tea and grape jelly... Dedicated to fruits and vegetables, the book gives information on their culture and history and offers proverbs from all over the world to celebrate them. The illustrations, lavish paintings, invite us in an extraordinary garden.
80 pages, 28 x 35 cm, 8 years +
Rights sold: Spanish (world)

A cook book as big as the world

by Alain Serres, ill. by Zaü
In this book you will find 60 recipes to travel around the world and cook with your whole family. Discover faraway landscapes as well as thousands of tastes from 5 continents. Open this kitchen window and you will get a taste of 25 different countries.
64 pages, 28 x 35 cm, 8 years +
Rights sold: Spanish (world)

Hide-and-Seek Numbers

by Anne Bertier
An imaginative game with 40 "number" cards, 2 game boards and one book. Let yourself be guided by the figures suggested in the book or make up your own! The aim of the game is to get caught, to rediscover familiar signs that one thought one knew so well. Going further in her research on signs -numbers or letters-, Anne Bertier creates here a game for all, to play alone or with others. The book inspired an exhibition presented at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris.
Box size 27 x 27 x 6.5 cm with a 64-pages book and 40 cards, 4 years +

Popov and Samothrace

A bestiary by Janik Coat
A funny and graphic animal book featuring thirty-three animals. On the left page, they are simply sketched with their name and species. On the right, they are painted in their natural environment. Each animal is given an actual personality. Janik Coat is a very keen observer and she knows how to highlight the particular features of the animals in her books.
68 pages, 16 x 24 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Italian

I'm not like the others

by Janik Coat
This animal book unveils its characters through comical and unexpected situations. You thought that lazy people were phlegmatic? Driss has enough energy to go and lie down... on top of the Eiffel Tower! A book about the pleasure of being different.
48 pages, 14 x 16 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Italian, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil)

That book

by Malika Doray
Eleven small animals are reading, concentrated and amused. Each holds a book with only the back cover visible. A pop-up system opens the book to the reader. "That book" represents all the books imaginable and all those one would like to read: a book for grown-ups, a book for little ones, a book to be shared, a book to be scared... and a book for you!
28 pages, 15 x 21 cm, 2 years +
Rights sold: Dutch and Korean

The chairs

by Louise-Marie Cumont
How amazing to think that chairs, simple chairs, can offer so much space for creativity? Louise-Marie Cumont invents a minimalist geographical space in which her characters perform in short acts, strong and significant. Conflict, complicity, fear and tenderness are present throughout the book. This silent book becomes a place for exchanges between children and adults. To go along with another title by the same author: Bedtime!
36 pages, 22 x 22 cm, 2 years +
Rights sold: Korean

All humans have the same rights

by Marie-Agnès Combesque, ill. Clotilde Perrin
The 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights explained to children
The complete Declaration is reproduced in the book, while each page highlights two or three elements of the text, going into further detail to help young readers understand this fundamental document.
Examples from contemporary life provide concrete links to today's realities.
40 pages, 23 x 26 cm, 10 years +
Rights sold: Dutch

The little white buffalo

by Fabienne Thiéry, ill. Judith Gueyfier
On a mountain in a remote Chinese province, a small white buffalo is born into Li's all-black herd. "What a wonderful omen", says the old wise man of Stork's Peak. But the next day Li becomes deaf, and his son later loses sight. When war begins neither is called upon to fight...
40 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm, 4 years +

This is a Poem that heals fishes

by Jean-Pierre Siméon, ill. Olivier Tallec
To heal Leon, his ill gold fish, Arthur must read him a poem. But is there anybody on this earth that can explain to Arthur what a poem is? The baker, the bird, his grandparents, the old Mahmoud, everybody has a different answer. Poem sounds like a very mysterious word. But it's getting urgent, and Arthur needs to know the answer. To save Leon.
"Exuding magic and unbridled creativity on every page, this is a book with the potential to heal more than just a fish." Publisher's weekly
Nominated Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2010
48 pages, 25 x 25 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Chinese (Complex and Simplified), English (World), German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (World)

When we'll have eaten the planet

by Alain Serres, ill. Silvia Bonanni
Could you imagine, one day, our planet without any water, no air, no trees, no plants or animals? Improbable scenario in the form of a poetical tale, which tells that money is not everthing and that the mind of a child might know how to cure this coughing planet...
A successful title in France that invites small children and parents to discuss this major topic together.
32 pages, 22 x 33 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Chinese (China), Farsi, Korean, Spanish (Latin America)

Face numbers

by Anne Bertier
Nine numbers means nine faces! First only half of the character's face appears, the other part being hidden by a half-page. Turn the page and the full face is revealed. From Zero to Nine, 10 funny faces to make children laugh and think! Anne Bertier's research on signs (letters or numbers) has resulted in several books, game and exhibitions that all invite children to participate and create they own graphic works while seeing these signs from a different perspective.
48 pages, 20 x 20 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Korean

And what about me?

by Malika Doray
"And what about me?" is a gallery of portraits featuring a complaining manatee, a giant elephant, tiny mice and a terrible crocodile... all different! But what about the little rabbit? The little rabbit is a little rabbit and that is good... In the same series of "That book", this is a simple and funny little book, full of bright colours, that tells it's best to be yourself.
32 pages, 15 x 21 cm, 2 years +

You

by Martine Bourre
Two creatures, a big blue one and a small orange one, meet each other. They love each other, hide and meet again. All our fears and moments of happiness are contained in these pages. Martine Bourre has chosen here simple lines with ample and accurate brush strokes to sketch the two creatures and bring tender and reassuring impressions to this delicate work.
32 pages, 18 x 24 cm, 2 years +

Terrible

by Alain Serres, ill. by Bruno Heitz
Terrible is a black wolf that frightens everybody, his wife and children included. One day, the little wolves take off their father's boots and gloves and are stunned to discover that he has coloured legs! This compelling, gentle book is about a feeling that sometimes frightens grown-ups: tenderness!
40 pages, 30 x 30 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Catalan, Chinese (Taiwan), English (Australia and New Zealand), Farsi, German, and Spanish (world).

Nyéba's journey

by Yves Pinguilly, ill. by Nathalie Novi
Nyéba's mother is vey ill. The Marabout gives strict instructions: Nyéba must collect leaves, flowers and fruit from a jujube tree to save her mother. She undertakes a long journey across river and desert, meeting an old elephant and an evil genie along the way, but this little girl's bravery can make miracles happen.
40 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm, 4 years +

A tiny little pea

by Stéphane Servant
This stylized, colourful book tells the story of Little Pea, who starts out in his mother's warm belly and then explores the world and discovers other people. Full of impressions, feelings and very simple questions on early childhood, this book is all about play, discovery, touch, love and encountering the world. The very simple illustrations play with colours and geometric forms to reveal various situations. To be enjoyed at day care, nursery school or at home...
48 pages, 20 x 20 cm, 18 months +

The story of Julie who had the shadow of a boy

by Christian Bruel, ill. by Anne Galland
Julie's parents are complaining so much that she is a tomboy, that one day her shadow becomes the one of the little male who caricatures all her moves. She finds this double amusing at first, until she starts doubting of her own identity. But how can you get rid of a shadow that is not even yours?
This title was first published in 1976 in France and had many foreign editions at the time. It had often been reprinted and was an important book for many readers. This new edition with a modern design but original text and illustrations proves how this story is still essential to children's literature.
Rights sold: Spanish (Latin America)
74 pages, 17,5 x 24,5 cm, 5 years +

Raymond is playing

by Anne Crausaz
For more great moments along with bright and colourful snails, here is a game based on the lovely graphics of Anne Crausaz. The matching pairs game Raymond is playing is a game of memory and observation. 22 pairs of snails dreamt by Raymond have to match. Put all the cards face down, return them two at a time: if they are the same, you win and can try another pair. If they are different, turn them back again while trying to remember where they were. It's your turn...
44 cards, one box, 16 x 9,5 x 7 cm, 4 years +

Raymond is dreaming

by Anne Crausaz
Raymond is a snail, Lucette and Germain's son. Raymond is a dreamer: he imagines himself as a strawberry, a slug, a centipede and even a giraffe. But all things considered, Raymond is happy to be a snail... A great moment in the company of bright and colourful snails, with lovely graphic creative work. Raymond is also the base of matching pairs game "Raymond is playing", a bestselling duet at éditions MeMo.
Sorcières Award 2009
48 pages, 20 x 20 cm, 2 years +
Rights sold: Simplified Chinese, Korean

When the cat's away

by John Crombrie and Sheila Bourne
This book is about a group of mice battling with a lazy and humdrum cat. While they are waiting for Tomcat to go out, the mice have to occupy themselves. A hilarious suspense! The book was originally published in English by Kickshaws in 1980, this is a brand new edition, for the first time in French.
48 pages, 19,5 x 22 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Korean

OOOO!

by Gay Wegerif
Watch out! Special loads: along the pages, a delivery man transports a fountain in a trailer, trees in a lorry, a bird's cage in a car... but why then? To build an extraordinary garden! Created like a child's play, the story introduces one at a time each element of the garden together with the related sound, and finally gathers the whole in the final set. A simple and delightful little book with a bright and colourful design.
32 pages, 17 x 23 cm, 2 years +
Rights sold: Korean

Nouk who flew away

by Alain Serres, ill. by Nathalie Novi
Living in a white landscape, Nouk dreams of hunting seals, but his father says he is too small to go. So Nouk runs away, tracking caribou, hares and geese in the snow. He wants to fly free as a bird so much that he finally becomes one - but is then hunted by his own father.
40 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Chinese (Taiwan)

I, Ming

by Clotilde Bernos, ill. by Nathalie Novi
"I, Ming, could have been Queen of England... A charming and powerful bull... Emperor of the world with a Babel tower on my head... But, no, I am Ming, and nobody else. I live in China near lake Kuokonor. I wear a straw hat and loose trousers..."
This story tells us simply the happiness of a grandfather walking one morning with Nam, his granddaughter. It gives us the opportunity to think altogether, adult and child, about the fascinating window of our societies: power, money or celebrity.
40 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Chinese (Taiwan), Greek, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish (world)

Martin of the hummingbirds

by Alain Serres, ill. by Judith Gueyfier
At the beginning of the 19th century, young Martin boards on a ship for Brazil. In the magical Brazilian forest, guided by a botanist, he discovers wonderful little hummingbirds. He also meets little Elléa, who sings just like the birds and hunts them for a merchant who buys their multicoloured feathers. This story is based on the true, passionate adventures of René-Primevère Lesson, who created books about his expeditions. Illustrator Judith Gueyfier based her delicate work on his original hand-engravings. This book offers a magnificent invitation to travel, draw and observe the natural wonders around us.
52 pages, 3 types of paper, 28 x 35 cm, 7 years +

My blue house

by Alain Serres, ill. by Edmée Cannard
This large-format picture book links the immensity of the universe to the small world of a child. Designed as a journey on earth as well as a plunge into the world of feelings, this book relates man's most marvellous treasure - the Earth. It describes the beauty and wonder of our planet, as well as the reassuring places that allow children to grow up peacefully and discover to the world. Edmée Cannard's illustrations blossom in large two-page spreads that depict the variety of the continents and the wealth of nature.
40 pages, 28 x 35 cm, 4 years +
Rights sold: Italian, Spanish (world), Portuguese (Brazil)

by Malika Doray
A succession of dialogues: the red jumper? No, the green dress. Bedtime? No, I want to stay up. Very upset? No, I want a kiss... all the minor conflicts and the major plans of a toddler collected in a few pages. A book in all ways, based on the immense pleasure of saying NO! A simple "system" book, with half pages inserted between two full pages.
36 pages, 15 x 21 cm, 18 months +

Mitsu, a perfect day

by Mélanie Rutten
Normally, Mitsu likes mornings. But on that day, she gets up in a bad mood! As her daily life becomes unbearable, Mitsu decides to venture out. On her trip, she experiences a unique encounter that will change the way she sees things in her life. The day after, nothing has changed... yet everything is different. The day after is a perfect day!
64 pages, 16,5 x 23 cm, 6 years +
Rights sold: German

Lucy

by Olivier Douzou
When spring comes, Bruno the beekeeper bear takes his hives out. And everyday, all the bees fly away to gather nectar from flowers. But Lucy, the smallest bee, only comes out at night... What is she up to? Lucy likes to wander around and play truant. She gathers nectar in the stars and makes the most unusual type of honey, moon honey.
36 pages, 17 x 22 cm, 2 years +

The big question

by Wolf Erlbruch
The book poses the biggest question of them all: Why am I here? A chorus of voices all have their own answer: a pilot says we're here to kiss the stars; a bird says we're here to sing our song; the number three thinks we're here to count to three. It encourages young ones to consider the question themselves, and to learn nothing is certain except that each of us will pose the question differently and hear different answers. A final answer to the big question comes from a mother holding her baby: "you are here because I love you". All that belongs to the world of the child's imagination finds meaning through pages bursting with Erlbruch's elegant, affective illustrations.
Bologna Ragazzi Award 2004
Prix Sorcière 2005
52 pages, 17,5 x 30 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Catalan, Chinese (Mainland China and Taiwan), Dutch, English (North America), German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) and Spanish (world).

Hansel and Gretel

ill. by Susanne Janssen
The story is famous: the famine, the poor woodcutter, the children abandoned in the forest, the path of small pebbles, the witch pushed in her own oven... As many of Grimm brothers' tales, this is not a witty little piece: the cruel stepmother has a morbid influence on her spineless husband who agrees on the infanticide. The whining girl, feudalized by her ingenious brother, will show herself capable of killing to save him.
After an anthological Peter Pan at Editions Être, Susanne Janssen's powerful images renew and disturb the representations linked to Grimm's tale: birds are strange baroque machines, the witch fascinates more than she repels, etc.
An elegant and unprecedended picture book.
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2008
Barreiro Illustrate Prize 2007
Rights sold: German and Korean
64 pages, 21,5 x 34 cm, 5 years +

I will be the eyes of the earth

Photographs by Altitude, text by Alain Serres, illustrations by Zaü.

Foreword by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Using a mix of aerial photographies, drawings and texts, three artists instill in children and their parents the desire to protect this moving jewel - our planet. This book is an absolute must-read on sustainable development.
An illustrator and an author use their talent and sensitivity to respond to images by renowned photographers from Altitude, famed French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's arial photo agency. The book not only reveals the beauty of our Earth, but also subty introduces 100 words that describe major global issues, such as deforestation, global warming, waste, solidarity, and fair trade.
Rights sold: German, Greek, Korean and Spanish (Spain)
112 pages, 34 x 24 cm, 7 years +

The ogre

by Karim Ressouni-Demigneux, ill. by Thierry Dedieu
The children on a large housing estate are afraid of the Ogre - a huge, scary creature holding shiny objects who only ventures out at night. They throw stones at his door and spy on him, but all they see is his dark shadow and shapeless form. One day, however, the Ogre fails ill, and it is then that the children find out that he is an artist. This is a tale with multiple meanings, capable of delivering both a shiver and emotion.
Mention at the Bologna Ragazzi Awards 2008
36 pages, 23,5 x 33,5 cm, 5 years +

The nose

by Olivier Douzou
A very funny epic story, freely inspired from a novel by Gogol. It all starts with: "Since we all have a blocked nose, the only thing to do is find a big hanky". The book is about the quest by a nose gang to find a "big hanky" or is it a "big hunky"? Confusion, sudden turn of events, this is a story to read with a blocked nose or a "blocked dose"!
2006 Baobab Award at Montreuil Book Fair.
60 pages, 16 x 21 cm, 5 years +
Rights sold: Dutch, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil)

This is where I grew up

by Anne Crausaz
A small seed has accidentally fallen on the ground. In autumn, the leaves form a blanket that keeps the seed warm through the winter. In spring, the seed slowly germinates and starts growing. But elements and animals harass the shoot. It resists bravely and keeps on growing until it turns into a beautiful fruit tree, an apple tree which, in turn, will provide seeds... One of Anne Crausaz's familar themes: the cycle of seaons, in bright colours that made her previous book "Raymond is dreaming" a bestseller!
48 pages, 18 x 22 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Korean, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Spanish (Mexico).

And Picasso paints Guernica

by Alain Serres
This exceptional large-format picture book, which explains to children Picasso's howl of outrage against war, is about both a work of art and a life. It describes the genesis of Picasso's brilliant masterpiece, Guernica, which was painted in response to the bombing of that Spanish city. It is also about the Spanish painter's extraordinary life, from his talented early childhood to his later commitment to peace, and helps readers grasp the wonder that all great works of art inspire. The Painting is reproduced in the book as a metre-long foldout.
56 pages, 26 x 34 cm, 8 years +
Rights sold: Basque, Catalan, Chinese (mainland China and Taiwan), Dutch, English (World), Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish (Spain)

Tales from China

by Fabienne Thiéry and Catherine Gendrin, ill. Vanessa Hié
In 18 tales, children will encounter 18 different faces of this fascinating, age-old civilization. Through these stories, they will meet an untameable dragon, a monkey collector and an emperor who trains crickets, all part of a fabulous journey full of laughter and tears, dreams and amazement - plus a few seeds of wisdom snatched from the shadow of the Great Wall.
144 pages, 18 x 25 cm, 8 years +

How to teach your parents to love children's books

by Alain Serres, ill. Bruno Heitz
More whimsical "blurb" than straightforward debate, this little book will provoke an exchange of ideas about books and reading while making a solid case for the richness of children's books and the reading experience. Children will find various clues to help their parents recollect their youthful selves.
68 pages, 19 x 16 cm, 5 years +, non-fiction or fiction, both really!
Special Prize from the jury, Andersen Prize 2010
Rights sold: German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain and Latin America)

An ABC for lovers

By Sandra Poirot Cherif
From A to Z, this tender, surprising love alphabet (which can be easily translated) comprises 26 words that sketch the landscape of love's outlines from Dates to Kisses, Jealousy to Timidity, and Quarrels to Secrets! This world of feelings can sometimes give life to a Family, and offers a Happy Mixture somewhere between Gallantry and King-Kong! This light, fresh book describes all the feelings - experienced for the first time, or time and time again - that make love so universal and yet always unique.
64 pages, 25 x 21 cm, 5 years and all lovers, a nice gift book also...
Rights sold: Chinese (Taiwan)

100 figures for a different dream of the world

by Elen Riot, ill. Zaü
In a whirlwind of information, statistics and surveys, it is not easy to establish simple, enlightening benchmarks. This book presents 100 key figures that tell children and parents about the state of the world, the changes taking place and the challenges of the third millennium. These figures were chosen to suggest and stimulate classroom and family discussions. Some data also offer young people real reasons to consider the changing world with optimism, for example by stressing the importance of vaccination and the spread of micro-credit.
56 pages, 26 x 34 cm, 9 years +
Rights sold: Portuguese (Brazil)

Hu-hum

by Gay Wegerif
"Hu-hum, have you seen my dress?" asks little princess to everybody she meets, from mouse to dragon, and rabbit, and hedgehog... Little by little they all help her in her search until they meet a horse, with a nice pink dress, which says "YEHHHS". Composed like a tangram, the images use trapezium as a reference for all characters, in a variety of bright colours. More than a simple graphic game, the book is a funny story for little ones, full of onomatopoeia children can play with.
32 pages, 17 x 18 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Korean

About the origin of mathematics

by Clémence Gandillot
If men find mathematics difficult, it is their own fault... Clémence Gandillot ends her short essay on mathematics with this sententious conclusion. And it perfectly summarizes her ideas: mathematics is the image of man and woman. Calculations are felt before even being solved; besides, adding two humans divides a cell that multiplies into a small one who will be subtracted from its mother to become a result... The whole book is a mix of philosophy and comics.
80 pages, 16 x 22 cm, 12 years +
Rights sold: German and Korean

In me

by Alex Cousseau, ill. Kitty Crowther
This story begins: "I haven't always been me. Before being me, I was not in me. I was somewhere else.(...) But I was not the king in me. Not yet. (...) In me, it was dark." Questions and fears take the shape of an ogre who has to be faced in order to find what one is looking for. To be able to say things, talk about fears and also about happiness. A highly intelligent book by Alex Cousseau and delicately illustrated by Kitty Crowther.
44 pages, 16 x 21 cm, 8 years +
Rights sold: Italian, Korean

Colours

by Malgorzata Gurowska
One page out of two has a hole through it, showing a coloured circle opening onto the following pages. Turn the page and discover an animal. What is green? A frog! A preschool book for toddlers with bright colours in geometrical blocks, showing the round and simple silhouettes of the animals featured. The names of the animals are in French and in English.
36 pages, 23 x 20 cm, 18 months +

Bedtime!

by Louise-Marie Cumont
In this book about night time, the night furniture disappears. The bed becomes a stage seen from above with a variety of different textures, colours and shapes. Characters perfom a daily and intimate ballet dance, no text is needed to understand. On each page, like on a screen, together or apart, enemies or in love, by three or by two. In bed, one has nightmares, dreams or just moments of laziness. Other titles by Louise-Marie Cumont at MeMo include Tears and The Chairs.
36 pages, 22 x 22 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Korean

One year: spring, summer, autumn and winter

By Charlotte Frereau
The Four Seasons series published at Editions MeMo is a series of four titles that can be opened and looked at like fanfold books or flicked through like picture books. Beautifully designed in soft or colourful tones, the books introduce a world of great landscapes and small characters. In the spring, the ant colony has collected lots of strawberries while the ladybirds are frenetically dancing in a ring to celebrate the good weather. In the autumn, colours are red and orange, umbrellas are getting out, the wind is playing around so are the mushrooms... Small children can open the book around themselves and make a hidding-place full of small friends!
4 titles, 6 pages each, 40 x 24 cm, 2 years +

Frankfurt Book Fair 2009

The book fair is approaching, I will be on the French collective stand as usual on 6.1 A954, please come and meet!

Hannele

Welcome

Dear Publishers,
Dear Agents,

This blog is to give you news of the publishers I represent; they are all independant children's books publishers based in France. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like information on any particular title or publisher.

Editions Être
Editions MeMo
Editions Rue du monde

I look forward to hearing from you!

Hannele Legras