FINDING FRANÇOIS

A piglet and her grandmother lead a cozy and cultured life together on a hilltop in Paris—but something is missing.

Alice enjoys reading, making lists, and organizing buttons on her own as well as baking and eating crème brûlée with her beloved guardian. Sometimes, however, she yearns for “someone her own size to talk to.” The bottle she pitches into the Seine is carried by an octopus, a sea gull, and the current across the ocean to François, a lonely lighthouse keeper’s son (a dog). So begins a wonderfully preposterous correspondence in which Gordon’s sly humor and understanding of child logic (very reminiscent of William Steig’s) shine forth. When François inquires as to Alice’s whereabouts, she replies, after some thought: “I am… / …over here. What are you doing over there?” The seascapes, city scenes, and interior views, rendered in cheery, warm watercolors and pencil, are enriched with clippings that appear to be from an antique French catalog; labeled furniture and kitchen items add texture and whimsy. When the protagonist’s grandmother dies and the little pig goes to live with kindly Miss Clément (an antelope), readers will witness Alice’s withdrawal and grief (and François’ confusion at the silence), until “the dark clouds slowly packed up their things and shuffled into the distance, and the sun sprung forth.” A lighthouse visit and the resumption of baking show it is possible to accommodate loss into living.

Elegant language, endearing characters, and irresistible images will warm hearts and minds with each reading.