The wolf, back in the French countryside where he had not been seen for a long time, is also a star of children's literature whose sympathy capital has never been so high.
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No less than four different wolf characters arrived in bookstores this year.
“
When we do a statistical assessment, he is the star,
” says historian Michel Pastoureau, author in 2018 of the essay
Le Loup: une histoire culturelle
.
"
I did some quantified surveys, and it is no longer the bear, no longer the pig: the wolf crushes everything
", he adds.
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One of these characters, created in 2009 by an author of children's literature, Orianne Lallemand, has just returned to primary school:
The Wolf who wanted to go to school
(Auzou editions) was released just before the start of the September school year.
“I was asked a lot for this title, and I did not see how to do it
, says the screenwriter.
But during confinement, I received so many little letters explaining that the children were bored of school, that they missed their teachers, that I got down to it. This Wolf, who is a bit of a boor, instead of not wanting to go to school as one would expect, he too will want to ”
.
The designer, Éléonore Thuillier, sees her character adorning classrooms everywhere.
The behavioral wolf
, for example, is a discipline management tool in elementary school ... popularized by school teachers.
"
I find it really nice that the teachers take ownership of my drawings
", rejoices the illustrator.
A wolf in his underwear
Another designer, Mayana Itoïz, for her part, sketches the Wolf in his underwear, a quirky character.
Volume 6 of his adventures,
Cache-Noisettes
(Dargaud editions), was released in November.
At the Montreuil Youth Book Fair at the beginning of December, he was one of the first figures on which visitors came across.
“I don't feel in competition with Orianne and Éléonore's wolf.
They are side by side in bookstores, and we can see that we did not create them the same, ”she
says.
His was born from the fears of his son, ingeniously calmed by a large drawing of a wolf in a grotesque outfit.
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For the little ones (2 years and over), a wolf is the hero of speechless game books published by L'Agrume.
He is round and jovial.
The Wolf Animals
, third in the series by Yen-Lu Chen-Abenia and Mathilde Bel, published in February, allows you to learn the names of other animals.
A more malicious wolf
“
The wolf is a bit the only one who has never left our imagination in Europe since proto-history. Recently, he has become mischievous, not mean, a little ridiculous, very sympathetic,
”according to Michel Pastoureau.
Finally another wolf, another aim. At Mai Lan Chapiron,
Le Loup
(La Martinière editions), released in September, is a story intended for the prevention of incest. And the canine is there, this time, the predator.
“He's a nice wolf, smiling, you can't see his fangs. But his shadow shows what he's doing to the little girl, ”
she describes.
It all started with a song composed by the one who was a victim of incest herself. "
It is not literally a wolf!
This idea occurred to me while reworking this song that came out on its own.
I wanted to transcribe the feeling of being a prey, in front of a character who prowls ”
, specifies Mai Lan Chapiron… which is also, she specifies,
“ for the defense of the animals
”.
The book, for which she had
"trouble finding a publisher"
and which UNICEF now promotes on its website, is selling
"beyond her expectations"
.
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