JANE, THE FOX, AND ME

By Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault Translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou

Education 4265
Tamara Smith for Leah Fowler An exploration of a Picture Book for Education 4265, first assignment. Book Club

Table of Contents Readers Response Plot Setting Characters Themes Teaching point About the Author About the Illustrator Critique 3 5 6 7 8 9 12 13
Stick Figures: http://dqlabs-tutorials.blogspot.ca/2007/12/drawing-humanfigures-caricatures.html Warm /Cool: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolio3/m/mittraunuruodo/ Evening_City_Warm_And_Cold-1365453764l.jpg

Fanny Britt, trans. from the French by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou, illus. by Isabelle Arsenault. Groundwood

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CRITIQUE
Awards
Jane, the fox & me has received The New York Times Best Illustrated Book award and has been translated into five languages. Other awards in-

READERS JOURNAL
I spent a good deal of time in the Curriculum Lab and Chapters, looking for the perfect book for my Book Club assignment, but was disappointed. I found some wonderful books that piqued my interest and some that I will likely be integrating into my teaching practice, but nothing that struck a chord. ( I have to admit that when I started looking for picture books I was imagining the deep richly colorful illustrations of Jeanne DuPraus Ember. ) I finally had a nice young man help me find a book with the criteria listed in the assignment outline. The first page I encountered upon opening the book was this..>> The drawings were simple pencil sketches, black and white, and showed a group of young teen schoolchildren. Nothing flashy, but comfortable, familiar, evocative. I wondered what these simple drawings would be able to add to the story. The First page brought back memories from my own school days, and I was sure that the scene is familiar to many, and I am sure that the creeping dread of High School is familiar to everyone. I was worried that another story of a bullied girl (which I thought at first was the primary idea of the story) would become trite. This is not the case, the sensitivity with which the story is told, and the depth of illustration and subtext adds many new dimensions to an old story. I was drawn to Helene, and the way she escapes the pain of her life. I also soon found that there is much more going on than the school bullying. Helenes father is conspicuously absent from home and her relationship with her mother is complex. There is an emotion ridden give

clude the Schuster Award and the Prix des bibliothques de Montral.

Reviews
A sensitive and possibly reassuring take on a psychological vulnerability that is all too common and not easily defended. (Kirkus Review 2013-07-17) More than a few readers will recognize themselves in Hlne and find comfort. (Publishers Weekly 2013-07-15) Loneliness is a language that doesnt need translation....ts a language understood by anyone who has endured the interminable wait for a Graldine of her own. (New York Times 2013-08-25) Readers will be delighted to see Helenes world change as she grows up, learning to ignore the mean girls and realizing that, like Jane, she is worthy of friendship and love. (School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW 2013-1018) Hlnes emotional tangle is given poignant expression through Arsenaults pitch-perfect mixed-media art...[Her] story is sweetly comforting and compelling. (Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, STARRED REVIEW 2013-10-15) Britts poetic prose captures Hlnes heartbreaking isolation . . . [A] brutally beautiful story. (Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW 2013-11-27)

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READERS JOURNAL
and take between the two and we can see how Helenes imperfect mother is influencing her daughter. The family dynamic includes two brothers to whom Helene cannot relate, and the usual guilt and recriminations of teenage angst. The characters speak in different fonts, adding dimension to their individuality. The illustrations, while simple, are extremely descriptive and subtle, and perhaps more accessible because of their simplicity. Isabelle Arsenault can characterize a snob in the tilt of a nose or the shape of a hand. It is impossible not to notice that Helenes daily life is drawn in greyscale and her musings on Jane Eyre are, at first the only pages in color. Arsenaults use of color in the final pages of the book show us the changing attitude of Helene as her situation changes. The image of leaves and foliage is also used to dramatic intent. There is cultural and historical content in the depictions of Helenes surroundings. It is possible to see Montreal through the eyes of the characters as they shop and go to school. The clothing worn by the characters, and references to popular music gives us a sense of the recent past. I would teach this book because apart from the apparent theme of adolescent loneliness and bullying, there are multiple layers which can be explored. The issue of bullying is handled lightly and does not become preachy or overworn. uses in teaching how and why you would teach the book.

ISABELLE ARSENAULT
Bio
Isabelle Arsenault is an illustrator who studied Graphic Design at the Universit du Qubec Montral (2001). After her studies, she quickly contributed to several magazines in Canada and the UnitedStates. In 2004, Isabelle illustrated her first children's book, for which she received the prestigious Governor General's Award for children's litterature in French (illustration). Her passion for illustrated books has led her more and more to continue pursuing this path. Since then, she was a finalist on two other occasions for the GG's ("My Letter to the World", "Migrant"), finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Award in 2011 ("Spork") and her book "Migrant" is among the 10 best illustrated books of 2011 according to The New York Times. In 2012, she received her second Governor General's Award for the illustrations of "Virginia Wolf" in addition to winning Le Prix jeunesse des libraires du Qubec for "Fourchon" (French version of "Spork"). Isabelle, who enjoys working intuitively, adopts an approach to her work that is inspired by the projects she is given. Her style is infused with sensitivity and finesse. It attracts the attention of the young as much as that of older people, who can sometimes have a more in-depth understanding of it. Isabelle Arsenault lives and works in Montreal.

http://www.isabellearsenault.com/bio/

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FANNY BRITT
Bio
Fanny grew up in and still resides in Montreal after moving from Abitibi when she was a child. She graduated from the National Theater School of Canada in 2001. She translates and writes her own works. A GG finalist in two categories in 2013, Fanny Britt wins her first GG award for Bienveillance. The author of a dozen plays, including Chaque jour and Couche avec moi (c'est l'hiver), she has also translated more than 15 contemporary plays. Published in 2012, her graphic novel Jane, le renard et moi (illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, GG 2013, childrens literature illustration) garnered international recognition and has been translated into five languages. It won several prizes, including the Schuster Award and the Prix des bibliothques de Montral, and was on the prestigious New York Times list of the best illustrated books of 2013.

Remember Middle School?

Meet Helene. The story revolves around this young girl and the troubles she is having with her peers. Helene is the target of bullying at her High School, and has recently been ostracized (for no known reason) by her previous friends. She is deeply lonely, and the taunting of her peers is beginning to have an effect on her self image. Helene finds escape in the book Jane Eyre, and throughout the story we follow her progress through Jane Eyres pages. Helene discovers she has to go on a school camping trip an is horrified at the idea of spending four whole days with the children who torment her.

http://ggbooks.canadacouncil.ca/en/about-apropos/archives/authors/f/ fanny%20britt Page 12

We get a glimpse of Helenes day to day life and her preparations for the trip while learning more about her relationship with her mother and her two brothers. It becomes clear that Helene is a clever young girl with depth and subtle wit. At the camp she is bunked with the other misfits and her loneliness and identification with Brontes heroine become more intense. Helenes isolation is broke when Geraldine defects from the snobs and with a sense of justice joins the misfits. We see Helene begin to gain confidence and her life begin to change with the appearance of a friend.

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I cant wait to get out of this place!

Creative Writing

Choose one picture from the book and free write for 5 minutes about it. Narrative, dialogue, scripting...

Reading Comprehension

Visual Literacy

Find a group of pictures with little or no text...describe what the characters are feeling and then explain how you know that is what they are feeling. Pay particular attention to the depiction of the character themselves and the

Welcome to Helenes world. The school and shops we see Helene visit are unremarkable except in the feeling of familiarity that they bring to the story. The High School is unnamed, but the utilitarian architecture and textual references to the odd unpleasant smell of a back hallway make it an everymans school. Any urban dweller will be at home in the streets and stores that Helene visits. We can identify cultural markers in The Bay and the interior design of Helenes apartment. What is important to note is the encroachment of the forest into the urban spaces when Helene is feeling particularly strong emotions. We come away with the feeling that Helenes inner landscape is as real as her outer one.

A Sense of Community

Ask your class to consider what makes the community around their school special. If they respond that the community is not special and is interchangeable with a lot of other communities, press them further, insisting that just as each person has his or her own identity, so does a community. Motivate students by explaining that if they can communicate the essence of their community in class orally, they will get a chance to make a videotape that captures that essence. (An alternative to a videotape is a multimedia presentationperhaps on a computerusing photographs, drawings, and other graphics as well as audio.)

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Literary symbols

What does the fox indicate? Why is it in colour?

Mean girls

Body Language Visual Literacy

Light and Dark

Make a Value Scale

Colour

Warm and Cool

Anyone look familiar? The characters in Jane the Fox and Me are people we know from our own lives.

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Teaching
Whats her problem?
Self Image Mind Map character brain activity. Cause/effect...go throught the story and see what makes Helene feel badly about herself, and what makes her feel good. How does this relate to our own lives?

Bullying

Activity The toothpaste activity Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the room. Place a strip of masking tape on the length of the table. With a tube of toothpaste, have the volunteer run a bead of toothpaste each time Helene gets bullied. Now ask the participant to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Obviously, it cant be done. This is an example of how hurtful words once spoken cannot be taken back. Bullies say hurtful words frequently and need to know the impact that their words have on their victims.

Mother/Daughter Relationships

Cause/Effect

Self Identifying. Helene is at that crucial point in early adolescence when self image is most vulnerable. She suffers from poor (and deluded) self image for more than one complex reason.

Parallel Storylines

Literary self identificationBrainstorm literary characters from multiple genres as well as some of their character traits. Have the students see if they can find a parallel.

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