If you thought that Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod had run out of funny and touching childhood stories, then you are happily mistaken! The family from Cherbourg is so restless that their antics could fill twenty books. But for now – the seventh and final one: the long-awaited continuation of "Omelette with Sugar," "Flying Cheese," "Radish Kebab," and other beloved collections.
Adventures in the big Cherbourg family seem to arise on their own, in circumstances that appear unremarkable at first glance. A trip to the library – what better excuse for a detective plot with elements of conspiracy? Jean B.'s secret manuscript provokes such a pillow fight and such sock throwing that even this children's room has never seen before. Long winter evenings – even they are full of events, discoveries, inspiring and happy moments. It cannot be otherwise in a family where there are six sons, each of the six boys is named Jean, and the father is like the seventh Jean troublemaker, albeit a little older.
The writer Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod (born in 1958), known to readers in the form of Jean B., does not nostalgically reminisce about the past but transforms his memories into a unique world of true childhood, to which one wants to return again and again. France in the 1960s unexpectedly turns out to be as attractive and enchanting as Narnia or Middle-earth, while the details of the life of an ordinary person from the last century become a familiar and comforting backdrop for the most unusual adventures.
The entire series is designed in a unified style and illustrated by Dominique Corbasson (1958-2018). The light, caricature style of the French artist echoes the mischievous tone of the text and adds hilarious moments. The seventh part of the collection, "A Pea for Six," is one of the last works in the life of the artist, and perhaps because of this, the illustrations in this edition resonate with a sense of quiet farewell.
For younger school age.