Retrato do autor

Alain Grée

Autor(a) de The House that Beebo Built

190 Works 624 Membros 9 Críticas

About the Author

Séries

Obras por Alain Grée

The House that Beebo Built (1969) 67 exemplares
Transportation (2012) 20 exemplares
Beebo and the Fizzimen (1969) 18 exemplares
Sally and Billy in the Woods (1964) 16 exemplares
Alphabet (1801) 15 exemplares
Animal Fun (Learn-a-Word Book) (1979) 15 exemplares
At Home (Learn-a-Word Book) (1975) 14 exemplares
At School (Learn-a-Word Book) (1973) 13 exemplares
Seasons (1990) 12 exemplares
Exploring (2013) 12 exemplares
Sailing: A Basic Guide (1979) 11 exemplares
My First Book of Sounds (2014) 9 exemplares
Nature (2012) 9 exemplares
My First Book of Vehicles (2013) 7 exemplares
Seaside (2013) 7 exemplares
My First Book of Animals (2012) 7 exemplares
Mountains (2010) 6 exemplares
Tell Me About Measures (1969) 6 exemplares
My Illustrated Encyclopedia (2017) 6 exemplares
Keith and Sally by the River (1966) 5 exemplares
Find the Goldfish (1967) 5 exemplares
First Words in French (2016) 5 exemplares
My First Book of Letters (2013) 5 exemplares
LES PLANTES (1971) 4 exemplares
Petit Tom et son amie l'abeille (1972) 4 exemplares
Les farfeluches au cirque (1976) 4 exemplares
Tell Me About Color (1972) 4 exemplares
Heidi Peter und Die Flugzeuge (1987) 4 exemplares
Petit atlas (1977) 4 exemplares
Happy Morning (1962) 4 exemplares
The House in the Hollow Tree (1967) 4 exemplares
Colors (2015) 4 exemplares
Romeo Becomes a Musician (1966) 4 exemplares
My First Book of Numbers (2012) 4 exemplares
L'espace (1974) 4 exemplares
L'electricite 3 exemplares
The Story of a Sailing Boat (1972) 3 exemplares
First Words in Spanish (2016) 3 exemplares
My First Book of Colours (2012) 3 exemplares
My First Book of Opposites (2016) 3 exemplares
Au Jardin (1968) 3 exemplares
Gjengen i dyrehagen (1976) 2 exemplares
Mein erstes Buch. Bauernhof (2016) 2 exemplares
Rovarlesen (1980) 2 exemplares
Danny the Dog (1987) 2 exemplares
De stad 2 exemplares
O Mar (1973) 2 exemplares
Les sports (2010) 2 exemplares
My First Book of Nature (2016) 2 exemplares
De wereld onder zee 2 exemplares
Ik ken de dieren (1972) 2 exemplares
Petit Tom fait 10 découvertes (1975) 2 exemplares
Treinen 2 exemplares
Romeo zoekt werk (1967) 1 exemplar
Ich kenne die Eisenbahn (1971) 1 exemplar
Fun and Games (Alain Grée) (2017) 1 exemplar
Le pétrole (1971) 1 exemplar
Metro, El (1982) 1 exemplar
los automóviles 1 exemplar
Het weer en het klimaat (1989) 1 exemplar
Los pájaros 1 exemplar
Los Deportes (1980) 1 exemplar
QU EST CE QUI VOLE ? (1967) 1 exemplar
Os Animais 1 exemplar
le livre-jeux des voiliers (1972) 1 exemplar
Przyroda (2018) 1 exemplar
Liczby (Polish Edition) (2016) 1 exemplar
L'Aigua (1981) 1 exemplar
De boerderij 1 exemplar
The Farm (2016) 1 exemplar
La ferme 1 exemplar
os avioes 1 exemplar
A televisao 1 exemplar
Pourquoi? (1993) 1 exemplar
Vliegtuigen 1 exemplar
Pirueta, la ardilla (1984) 1 exemplar
De rivier 1 exemplar
Who Does What (1974) 1 exemplar
Sacripan l'ours (1991) 1 exemplar
De vogels (1989) 1 exemplar
Sanelma Siili (1986) 1 exemplar
Op school 1 exemplar
Energie (1976) 1 exemplar
What Flies? 1 exemplar
Los insectos (1975) 1 exemplar
The farm (1989) 1 exemplar
Auto's 1 exemplar
Didier aux sports d'hiver. (1966) 1 exemplar
En route 1 exemplar
Mir vokrug (2015) 1 exemplar

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1936-07-21
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
France
Local de nascimento
Eaubonne, France
Locais de residência
Eaubonne, France (birth)
Paris, France
Educação
Ecole des Arts Appliqués
Beaux Arts de Paris
Ocupações
illustrator

Membros

Críticas

Note: I accessed digital review copies of this book through NetGalley and Edelweiss.
 
Assinalado
fernandie | 3 outras críticas | Sep 15, 2022 |
Seraphin is a ticket-puncher at the Paris Metro but dreams of a life filled with beauty and fresh air. When he inherits a property with a dilapidated house on it, he uses his savings to repair it to a glorious new structure. But his happiness is fleeting as Seraphin learns when officials come to his door threatening to tear down his home to make way for modern buildings.

This was a particularly strange read. The first thing that struck me was how wordy it is. This is the second picture book in translation I read this year that had such lengthy sentences and paragraphs on each page. European children must have a much longer attention span than American children; I would definitely not recommend this to younger kids, only to those in the upper elementary school-age range.

The book doesn't follow a traditional narrative arc of introduction-problem-climax-resolution-conclusion. It seems to keep meandering off into different subplots that disappear as quickly as they arise. For instance, on one page spread only, various inanimate objects in Seraphin's house come to life as he sleeps. The reader never hears of this again.

The character of Plume was also rather unusual -- he appears to be a small child with no real guardians, as he spends all his time with an old man of no relation to him and nobody questions this at all. Seraphin seems like a kindly enough fellow, but I still found this a bit disturbing.

The illustrations are well done when it comes to the unusual structures and mechanics that Seraphin builds, and these whimsical bits were my favorite part of the book. However, the illustrations of people all came off looking very cartoon-ish and too alike; there is zero diversity in them, despite France being one of the more diverse countries in Europe.

The ending was way out there and I don't know what to make of it. As an adult, it seems like Seraphin and Plume are working their way into non-existence, but I suppose a child would have a more magical explanation for their endless staircases into the sky.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
sweetiegherkin | 3 outras críticas | Sep 29, 2019 |
Having fallen into the job of ticket collector in the Paris Metro, the eponymous Seraphin doesn't particularly care for his job, and ends up getting fired when he abandons his post to rescue a butterfly. Together with his friend Plume, who lives in the same building as he does, Seraphin ends up renovating a run-down old house he inherits, making it into a magical place. But what will he and Plume do when the authorities show up, and begin to build horrible apartment buildings? Will they be evicted? Will their house be demolished? Or will they find a way to escape...?

Originally published in French in 1967, as Le merveilleux chef-d'oevre de Séraphin, and just made available in English this year (2019) by the Brooklyn-based Elsewhere Editions, who specialize in translating international children's books, Seraphin is a somewhat quirky picture-book. The story is rather sad, and is clearly a product of its time, with the somewhat dreamy, individualistic and artistic Seraphin being pitted against the heartless forces of authority and society, whether represented by his boss at the Metro, or by the construction workers threatening to tear down his home. I'm not sure I found the conclusion, in which Seraphin and Plume escape into the sky either believable or that satisfying, but other than that I found the story interesting, and the artwork lovely. There's a magical feeling to the visuals here that is most appealing, and I'm glad to have had the chance to read this one. With the caveat that the ending isn't that inspiring, this one is recommended to young readers who feel out of step with society around them.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
AbigailAdams26 | 3 outras críticas | Jul 10, 2019 |
Such a lovely, and somewhat sad story. Seraphin is just a man, who has no idea what he wants to be as an adult. He is constantly looking to fill his life with joy. The illustrations are old school, but they are the perfect charming match to the story inside the pages. The story is quite long for a picture book, and it ends abruptly. Overall, it’s an enjoyable reads. Reminds me of some of the stories that used to be profiled on Reading Rainbow.
½
 
Assinalado
LibrarianRyan | 3 outras críticas | May 31, 2019 |

Prémios

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Associated Authors

Luis Camps Illustrator

Estatísticas

Obras
190
Membros
624
Popularidade
#40,357
Avaliação
4.0
Críticas
9
ISBN
237
Línguas
18

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