The Line That Did Whatever It Wanted

This is the story of a line. A straight line that moves forward, continuously, into infinity. One day (out of boredom, perhaps), it stops. All around it, there’s a commotion. People wonder what’s going on. But it still doesn’t move. Then (out of inertia, no doubt), it falls…

What happens next? Once at the bottom, the line tries to climb back up, but can’t. It pulls itself together and starts over. And as it keeps going up and down, it eventually starts to have fun. It discovers movements it never thought possible. All around her, people grow impatient; they pass judgment. But she doesn’t listen. She plays. She invents a thousand and one forms for herself—trajectories that are like so many facets of her personality, like so many emotions she experiences. Ever-changing by choice, she continues to drift endlessly, embracing the twists and turns of her path.

Following Dans ce monde-là, whose originality earned her much praise, Fabienne Pontoire returns with this new picture book, in its small square format, aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds. It features the same graphic qualities—with clean lines, but this time in color—illustrating a story that showcases a consummate art of storytelling infused with ever-present humor.