Maria Chapdelaine: Based on the Novel by Louis Hemon Book

Maria Chapdelaine is the quintessential novel of French Canada, the single undisputed classic, opening up new understanding of the past for each generation that reads it, challenging artists to explore and recreate that lonely heroic world afresh.

Kathleen Karr - Children's Literature

Louis Hemon (1880-1913) emigrated from France to Canada in 1911, fell in love with Quebec, and was run over by a train in 1913—a month after he had submitted the manuscript of his epic tale, Maria Chapdelaine, to Le Temps in Paris. Published in Canada in 1916, it has since become the quintessential novel of French Canadian life. The story of lovely young Maria's life and loves amid the chill hardness facing pioneering Quebecoise is here abridged for a younger audience. The artist Rajka Kupesic's graceful naive paintings have the look of a medieval calendar in a book of hours, her seasons pinpointing the labors thereof with brilliant color and simplicity. The shy beauty of Maria herself is set against this changing landscape with a knowingness that only comes from a deep love of the land. This is a beautiful and moving book. 2004, Tundra, Ages 5 to 10.