Treasures to share ❤️
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The Grimm Curse by Polly Shulman
My daughter Mimi is an avid reader. She sometimes tells me about her favorite books, and that makes me want to read the books she talks about. The opportunity arose in the last few months, I wanted to get out of my personal development books. Mimi was sure I would like this book because I love the world of retold tales. The heroine is a young teenager of 15 years old, her name is Elizabeth Rew. Her life seems to be that of Cinderella: a living but absent father, a shallow stepmother and two inconvenient stepsisters. Elizabeth struggles to fit in at her high school, but studiously catches the eye…
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Haïku d’amour by Jean-Michel Léglise
Right now I am composing haiku to accompany my intuitive watercolor drawings. I felt like reading haiku about love to be wrapped in love this holiday season. I was drawn to the cover of the book “A Red Rose Wilting”. This simple 42 page book is all about love. The love of nature, the love of oneself, the love for two until its torments. I found pretty the haiku on the back cover : Si je pouvais être…le soleil qui te réchauffe,voudrais-tu m’aimer ? If I could be…the sun that warms you,would you love me ? I can’t imagine living without love and I need to feel it in every area of my life. This…
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Future Boy Conan (1978)
[TV Series] « Mirai Shōnen Conan » – 26 épisodes (1978) I saw this old Hayao Miyazaki anime again and still love it ! Personally I think it hasn’t aged too much and I had a good time. Further the topics are always up to date ! Of course I introduced my daughters to this anime when they were little, and each time it reminds me of the sound of their childish laughter. Mimi gave her opinion… : That’s too good, the kids are too cute ! Conan is too strong. Gimpsy is funny, he zoos, he is more better, he is the best ! Conan’s quest The land and the sea are destroyed by the 3rd…
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Grave of The Fireflies (1988)
The transience of life This is an animated film inspired by the autobiographical book “The Tomb of the Fireflies” by Nosaka Akiyuki, whose story takes place during wartime. The title says it all: “The Tomb of the Fireflies”. In Japanese culture, fireflies represent the souls of the dead and are a symbol of the transience of life. The beginning of the film is memorable and moving. I found the appearance of Setsuko’s spirit as the box of fruit candies (containing her bones) is thrown away to be a thing of beauty. I was seduced and moved by this moment of magic: lights flickering, they are fireflies in the darkness of…
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Finally the Kingdom – Quatrains by François Cheng
François Cheng (born 30/08/1929) – Cheng Chi-hsien (程纪贤) is a Chinese writer, poet and calligrapher, he was naturalized French in 1971.I knew him through these interviews on the web and I admire him a lot. I love his author name which is 程抱一 (Chéng bào yī) which means “Who embraces Unity”. This is exactly what I feel in his words and scriptures. He forcefully embraces this Life in all its splendor, its purity by being one with Life! The Quatrain “As I grow older, I return to the essential form of the quatrain. The quatrain is special in that it is the most concentrated form, but it has a very…
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Que ma joie demeure by Jean Giono
This is the second book that my soul mate gave me as an invitation to travel. I really like this idea that we can travel together in a certain way, if we can’t really travel. (Yes! I have limiting beliefs and fears related to small and big trips). And following the confinement-deconfinement, I was totally lost… I had lost a bit my joy of living, of smiling at life. So this book “Que ma joie demeure” (Let my joy remain) was what I needed to welcome my emotions… The universe of Giono is the Soul of the World. And I feel my soul wanting to connect to this Mother Nature,…
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Dr Slump by Akira Toriyama
[Shonen manga] Dr Slump IQ 博士 (1980-1984) – 18 volumes Do you know the manga Dr Slump ? It was the first big hit for Akira Toriyama, author of “Dragon Ball”. I discovered this manga when I was in Taiwan as a teenager. I only got volume 2 because there was no longer 1 in the store. At the time, I couldn’t read or write Chinese, so my mom read me some dialogues. I found the title very intriguing I.Q 博士 。QI… and 博士 [bó shì] for doctor. This is the story of Doctor Slump who created a robot, a 13-year-old girl he named Arale. He presents her as his sister…
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La papeterie Tsubaki by OGAWA Ito
I thank Mommy-Bear who introduced me to this book she loves the Japanese writer. I started by reading the back cover, and I immediately knew I was going to love it, because it talks about writing, calligraphy, epistolary letters and papers. These are themes that appeal to me and are part of my daily life (see my article “Taking the time to put words down”). This novel is very sweet and full of nuggets of happiness. I devoured it in half a day, letting myself be easily lulled by the words, witnessing Hatoko’s journey : she came back to Kamakura in her hometown after the death of the Elder (her grandmother)…
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The great story of a small line
I like to stroll to the media library from time to time and read children’s books (my dream is to publish them), because I am sensitive to the drawing and the universal message it conveys. Who said that children’s books are only for children? This time I was not alone but with my friend and our respective children. She was not in good spirits and I proposed her to do something she had never done before: we were looking for a children’s book that we would read together to forget those negative thoughts. I chose the book “La grande Histoire d’un petit Trait”, I knew I would like it because…
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Aldebert, Childhood
I didn’t know this artist Aldebert until Mimi brought us a singing homework assignment in 6th grade. It’s “I’m afraid of the dark”. It is Teddy who takes care of having it revised. I like the chorus a lot, but I just have to sing “I’m afraid of the dark” with a depressing air ! I found it very hard to sing, it’s so wordy and catchy ! In the clip below, I discover the singer Elodie Frégé who accompanies Aldebert. I like the voice of this singer, I had watched the Star Academy show just to hear her sing. Song “J’ai peur du noir” (I’m afraid of the dark) The lyrics…
