Hopscotch by Marie-Louise Gay
CBC | Posted: September 19, 2023 4:33 PM | Last Updated: October 13, 2023
The power of imagination in a scary situation
Giant rabbits with sharp teeth circle the old motel where they are staying. Ophelia can also hear crow-witches cackling from the trees. And when it's time to go to her new school, she encounters an ogre who blocks the road with his giant ogre laughs.
But most frightening of all is when Ophelia is left in her new class and realizes that everyone speaks French. Except her.
The kids stare, and Ophelia feels like a fish in a fishbowl. But equipped with the magic of a sheet of white paper and a rainbow of pencils, she will find a way to cast her own spells over the class.
Inspired by events from her own childhood, beloved children's author-illustrator Marie-Louise Gay weaves a wonderful tale of imagination, creativity and resilience as the keys to children's power in an uncertain world.
(From Groundwood Books)
Hopscotch is for ages 3 to 6.
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Marie-Louise Gay is an author and illustrator of children's literature from Montreal. She has won the Governor General's Literary Award for children literature — illustration twice, for Rainy Day Magic and Yuck, A Love Story. Her other children's books include Mustafa, Any Questions? and the Stella & Sam series.