Caroline Merola is an author and illustrator of children’s books, with over 50 titles to her name. Many of her picture books take a playful and unconventional approach to reading, featuring a book that starts with the ending and others that can be read both forwards and backwards. She regularly visits schools and libraries to talk to children about her work. Her books have been translated into English, Czech, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and more. She has also served as a collection director at Bayard Publishing for almost 10 years. In 2011, she won the Governor General’s Award in the category of children’s illustration, having been a finalist in 2007 and 2008.
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Learning that I had been chosen to create the small album offered as part of the Books for Baby program was one of the best pieces of news I received that year! It was also a challenge I was eager to take on. A small book format, yes, but a big challenge!
I wanted to create a book that was both funny and surprising, one that would capture attention through its colours and shapes as well as the musicality of its words. A book that invites children to participate in the reading by anticipating what comes next—essentially, a book that little ones would want to have read to them again and again. I hope I succeeded.
Public libraries have always been at the centre of my life. I love books—wonderful and inventive children’s books, of course—but also comics. The neighbourhood library saved our summers when my sisters and I were little, too young to work but too old to play. We still talk about our summer readings after all these years. Then I had children, and the most exciting outing on Saturdays was a visit to the Ahuntsic library (which had moved to a very large, bright space). Leaving with ten books each felt unreal to them.
Now I go to the library all the time, but not just in Ahuntsic. I meet students all over Quebec to talk to them about my work as an author-illustrator. I discover immense libraries that look like modern art museums, old-fashioned libraries filled with treasures, and more conventional-looking libraries made vibrant by the extraordinary people who work there. Each time, I feel the same way: there’s something special about being in a library.
In my latest novel, Le mangeur d’ombres (The Shadow Eaters), the young protagonists, believing they are being pursued by a malevolent entity, find refuge in a library. This clearly shows that libraries have always made a strong impression on me. They are magical places!
Photo: Etienne Provost
