Wartime mission
Small book speaks volumes, Bernie Goedhart explains.
Captain Rosalie
Timothée de Fombelle Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault Translated by Sam Gordon Candlewick Press
Ages 8-12
Every so often, a little book comes along that sets itself apart from the rest. Captain Rosalie, released in North America this month, is such a book. Smaller than most picture books and with more text, it is aimed at an older age group than most titles in the picture-book genre but it nevertheless falls well within its purvey, thanks to the evocative artwork by Montreal’s Isabelle Arsenault.
Originally written in French and superbly translated by Sam Gordon, the text appeared in an anthology published by Walker Books in 2014, The Great War: Stories Inspired by Objects from the First World War. Clearly, that anthology served to mark the centennial of a war that started in 1914 and ended in 1918. Eleven authors were each asked to write a short story focused on a specific item (a soldier’s writing case for David Almond, a helmet for Michael Morpurgo, a recruitment poster for John Boyne, the Victoria Cross for Timothée de Fombelle), bringing to life a period of history probably unfamiliar to young readers today.
The story takes place in the fall of 1917 and centres on a five-year-old girl, Rosalie, whose father is serving in the war and whose mother works in a munitions factory. Every morning, Rosalie’s mom drops her off at the local schoolyard, where the schoolmaster has agreed to keep an eye on her while the mother is at work. Rosalie spends the day sitting quietly at the back of the classroom, hidden by the children’s coats, and listens intently to what the schoolmaster, a veteran who lost an arm in the war, is teaching the group of seven- and eightyear-olds. She is invisible to the rest of the class — all except Edgar, who is generally in trouble with the teacher but who sees (and knows) more than people give him credit for. To him, Rosalie is far from invisible. And when she needs help in the secret mission she has set for herself as the soldier she imagines herself to be, it is Edgar she turns to.
The nature of Captain Rosalie’s mission becomes clear, and will surprise readers — maybe even prompt a tear. De Fombelle has written a lyrical story about wartime that, by virtue of its determined and innocent central character, could prompt some great conversation between youngsters and their parents or teachers.
This little book speaks volumes — in text, art and emotion.