Loula Is Leaving for Africa

July 15, 2013
Loula’s brothers—“mean, horrible, stinky” triplets—have pushed her too far. She announces that she’s taking off for Africa; her theatrical parents merely smile. Only the family’s chauffeur, Gilbert, understands what Loula really needs, and he squires her through a glorious afternoon of make-believe. “Mademoiselle, look! What luck! Here is a restaurant. Which would you prefer,” he says, offering her cotton candy and an ice cream cone, “Ostrich egg soufflé or a grasshopper sandwich?” They cross the desert (he carries her through a sandbox), go for a camel ride (bouncy playground ducks), and take a paddleboat to a remote island (“It is so quiet,” Loula says contentedly, as they share a cup of “tea” and admire the setting sun). Villeneuve’s (The Red Scarf) ink-and-watercolor vignettes have a deliciously swoopy lightness of touch. Somehow, that Loula is the daughter of rich parents with a chauffeur to drive her around does not rankle; it’s all part of the fancy. The afternoon she and Gilbert share has the innocent sweetness of a ’30s film romance, right to the moment he carries the sleeping explorer into the house. Ages 4–7.

Starred review from August 15, 2013
Loula seethes. Sick of three ugly brothers and ignored by dotty parents, she sets out for Africa, making it only as far as the tree in the front yard until Gilbert (the family chauffeur) arrives to assist her on an imaginative safari. Much feels familiar here: an affluent, plucky girl with an upturned nose and a doting servant (Eloise, anyone?). A round-brimmed straw hat calls to mind a spunky French girl (bonjour, Madeline!). It's Gilbert, long-legged and lanky in high-waisted trousers, driving cap and bow tie, that makes this story special, sweet and lasting. His elaborate game of pretend, one that turns a city playground into the jungle, desert and rivers of Africa, reveals an utter devotion not only to little Loula, but also to make-believe. "Mademoiselle, please! Don't put your hand in the water! Piranhas!" he cautions urgently. Gestural ink-and-watercolor illustrations evoke the fantastic fluidity of the imagination, and crisp, copious white space suggests its limitlessness. Yellows and blues appear frequently, making this sunny adventure even sunnier. When Loula and Gilbert reach their destination (a tiny park island) at sunset, the dark squiggly cloud that hovered above Loula's head on each previous page dissipates in a miniexplosion of elation. A paean to imagination and an artful acknowledgment of children's needs and frustrations, leavened with poignancy and humor. (Picture book. 2-6)

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September 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 2-Villeneuve has created a sensitive tale about running away from home. Feeling neglected and ignored, Loula is sitting in a tree with her three favorite possessions and is happy to be away from her "mean, horrible, stinky" brothers. When Gilbert, the family's chauffeur, sees her, he looks up and asks, "What are you doing up in a tree?" She replies, "This is not a tree. This is AFRICA!" What follows is an afternoon of imaginary travel across oceans, jungles, deserts, and restaurants that serve grasshopper sandwiches and ostrich egg souffle. After Gilbert leads her to a little island in the park that they pretend is Africa, they watch the sunset, and then a sleepy Loula is carried back home. The ink and watercolor illustrations have the classic look of Ludwig Bemelmans's "Madeline" series (Viking). Read this title as a part of travel- or siblings-themed storytimes.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Fed up with her brothers, a girl announces that she's "going to Africa." She gets no reaction from her preoccupied parents, but the family's chauffeur plays along: together they decide that some kids on a climbing structure are chimpanzees, a sandbox is the desert, etc. The light-as-a-feather watercolors are a terrific storyteller, conveying Loula's rage and loneliness and the chauffeur's humanity.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)