Marie Lafrance – Illustratör

The Tweedles are back and ready to take another exuberant swing at going modern. When their neighbors the Hamms announce that they’ve “gone online” by buying a telephone, Mama excitedly follows suit. But will the lure of the telephone be too much of a distraction for this sweetly old-fashioned family?Fresh from their adventure with their new electric car, Mama decides that the family needs a telephone to keep up with the changing times, and daughter Frances could not be more thrilled. But not all the Tweedles are convinced. Son Francis only has eyes for the family’s car, and Papa worries about the family’s privacy.Once the phone is installed in the family’s home, they can hardly believe the noise it makes! But Frances takes a shine to the telephone immediately, and her enthusiasm for the new device threatens to keep the whole family up at night. Eventually Mama and Francis warm up to the telephone, too, and soon they can’t sit still long enough to play a family game of Crokinole. Will the Tweedles ever be able to go offline again?This clever companion to The Tweedles Go Electric gently pokes fun at our modern addiction to technology, while further endearing readers to the sweetly odd Tweedles family.

Stacey May Fowles’ debut picture book is a whimsical, warmhearted story of how a super-special surprise can lead to anxiety — or invite imagination.One beautiful fall day, Fern opens her mailbox and finds an envelope. After much worrying about what it could possibly contain, her friend Fawn encourages her to open it. Inside, she finds an invitation to a super-special surprise at the museum — but Fern doesn’t like surprises! Luckily, Fawn offers to come with her to the party. What could possibly happen, he asks. Along the way, Fern voices her worries: What if they can’t make it in time? What if they don’t know anyone there? Fawn playfully follows his friend's way of thinking, while gently suggesting twists to her story and a fun new cast of characters — the chipmunk who could show them a shortcut, the grumpy bear who could clear their path, the brave dentist who might treat the bear’s toothache — until at last they arrive, and Fern is able to enjoy the wonderful surprise happening around her. Marie Lafrance’s delightfully dreamy illustrations bring the imagined world of Fern and Fawn to life in this super-special story about catastrophic thinking.Key Text FeaturesillustrationsCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

Alice and Mrs. Nobody love getting up to no good. While giving each other fashionable haircuts, belting nighttime duets, or scribbling magic-marker wall murals, the two friends are inseparable. Until the day they disagree on what to play next. Mrs. Nobody wants Alice to play Puppy. But when Alice pushes back (she was Puppy last time!), she feels the wrath of Mrs. Nobody, who grows bigger and bigger and louder and louder before disappearing altogether. Although Alice suffers a long, lonely night without the company of Mrs. Nobody, she finds some solace in the sound of her own voice. When Mrs. Nobody reappears the next day, Alice knows what she must say.This debut picture-book by award-winning novelist and poet Y. S. Lee puts a surprising spin on the concept of setting boundaries — particularly with those closest to us. Readers will find themselves immersed in the fanciful world of Alice and Mrs. Nobody — brilliantly rendered by internationally acclaimed illustrator Marie Lafrance — while delighting in the twists of an imaginary friendship gone awry.Key Text FeaturesillustrationsCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.