Isabelle Arsenault
Author of Virginia Wolf
About the Author
Image credit: Isabelle Arsenault
Series
Works by Isabelle Arsenault
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Arsenault, Isabelle
- Birthdate
- 1978-02-06
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Université du Québec à Montréal
- Occupations
- illustrator
Children's Book Illustrator - Awards and honors
- Governor General's Award
- Short biography
- Isabelle Arsenault is a French-Canadian artist and illustrator. Born in Sept-Iles, Quebec in 1978, she studied Graphic Design at the Université du Québec à Montréal (2001). After her studies, she quickly contributed to several magazines in Canada and the United-States. In 2004, Isabelle illustrated her first children's book, for which she received the prestigious Governor General's Award for children's literature 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, and 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 Québec for Fourchon (the 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. - Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Sept-Iles, Quebec, Canada
- Places of residence
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Map Location
- Canada
Members
Reviews
What a sweet book! Colette is new to the neighbourhood and isn’t allowed to have a pet. But the “loss” of a pet — a pet that becomes more and more unusual as Colette describes it to others — makes an excellent introduction to the kids of Mile End and her new community.
“Charming” may be an adjective that marketing people dislike, but it’s entirely appropriate to this book. COLETTE’S LOST PET is superficially simple but actually layered and rewarding. The illustrations are show more beguiling: dreamlike and subtly detailed. Parents and young readers alike will enjoy repeated readings and speculating on Colette’s next story. I hope Isabelle Arsenault will pursue this character in this setting: Colette’s world is a place of imaginative richness and beauty.
COLETTE’S LOST PET is a great pick for public and home libraries. It would make a strong read-aloud selection for classrooms and summer programs with early readers, particularly those who may be shy or self-conscious among peers. Colette’s very identifiable way of making hay of her reality may encourage others to come out of their shells and get caught up in imagination. show less
“Charming” may be an adjective that marketing people dislike, but it’s entirely appropriate to this book. COLETTE’S LOST PET is superficially simple but actually layered and rewarding. The illustrations are show more beguiling: dreamlike and subtly detailed. Parents and young readers alike will enjoy repeated readings and speculating on Colette’s next story. I hope Isabelle Arsenault will pursue this character in this setting: Colette’s world is a place of imaginative richness and beauty.
COLETTE’S LOST PET is a great pick for public and home libraries. It would make a strong read-aloud selection for classrooms and summer programs with early readers, particularly those who may be shy or self-conscious among peers. Colette’s very identifiable way of making hay of her reality may encourage others to come out of their shells and get caught up in imagination. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
French-Canadian illustrator and picture-book author Isabelle Arsenault presents the NATO phonetic alphabet - officially known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, it was adopted in the 1950s to aid clarity in voice messages and communication - in this beautifully-illustrated picture-book. Each two-page spread of this unusual alphabet book features the designated word for that page's letter - Alpha for A, Foxtrot for F - on the left-hand side, and an illustration of the word show more in question on the right.
Although I often have mixed reactions to alphabet books - they tend to bore me, unless they do something unusual - I picked up Alpha with some anticipation, as I am a great admirer of Isabelle Arsenault's artwork. I appreciated the fact that this is not simply an alphabet book, but a specific kind of alphabet book, one devoted to the NATO phonetic alphabet that one so frequently hears being used in military movies and television shows. I thought that this was an unusual approach to the form. The illustrations were lovely, and I thought some of the illustration ideas - boxing gloves for M/Mike, a clear reference to Mike Tyson - were quite creative. Visually, I particularly liked those pages (J for Juliet, R for Romeo) on which an item was depicted (a bottle, a knife), with a shadowy human figure contained within. Recommended to fellow Arsenault fans, and to anyone looking for unusual picture-books. show less
Although I often have mixed reactions to alphabet books - they tend to bore me, unless they do something unusual - I picked up Alpha with some anticipation, as I am a great admirer of Isabelle Arsenault's artwork. I appreciated the fact that this is not simply an alphabet book, but a specific kind of alphabet book, one devoted to the NATO phonetic alphabet that one so frequently hears being used in military movies and television shows. I thought that this was an unusual approach to the form. The illustrations were lovely, and I thought some of the illustration ideas - boxing gloves for M/Mike, a clear reference to Mike Tyson - were quite creative. Visually, I particularly liked those pages (J for Juliet, R for Romeo) on which an item was depicted (a bottle, a knife), with a shadowy human figure contained within. Recommended to fellow Arsenault fans, and to anyone looking for unusual picture-books. show less
"One day my sister Virginia woke up feeling wolfish," the young narrator of this creative picture-book exploration of childhood emotion begins, going on to describe her sister's terrible mood, and her own efforts to do something to cheer her up. Eventually, it is the narrator's beautiful painting that leads Virginia to a better state of mind...
Apparently inspired by celebrated author Virginia Wolff and her painter-sister, Vanessa Bell, Kyo Maclear's narrative in Virginia Wolf offers a show more sensitive examination of the state of depression, as witnessed by a loved one. The mixed media illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault, who also collaborated with Maclear on Spork, make excellent use of black silhouettes and more colorful elements to capture the changing emotional register of the story. Vivid colors enter the picture through the narrator's painting, and reflect Virginia's slowly changing state of mind. Recommended to fans of Arsenault (in whose number I count myself), as well as to anyone looking for children's stories about depression. show less
Apparently inspired by celebrated author Virginia Wolff and her painter-sister, Vanessa Bell, Kyo Maclear's narrative in Virginia Wolf offers a show more sensitive examination of the state of depression, as witnessed by a loved one. The mixed media illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault, who also collaborated with Maclear on Spork, make excellent use of black silhouettes and more colorful elements to capture the changing emotional register of the story. Vivid colors enter the picture through the narrator's painting, and reflect Virginia's slowly changing state of mind. Recommended to fans of Arsenault (in whose number I count myself), as well as to anyone looking for children's stories about depression. show less
The best thing about this book is the beautiful black and white artwork. Whimsical without being twee, the lines are delicately drawn, emphasizing the tentative nature of Colette's forays into her new neighborhood and the sensitive situation she is falling into. Colette, you see, wants so badly to make a good impression upon her new neighbors that a small lie about a lost pet snowballs. As each new person eagerly offers to help her and is excited by Colette's description of the missing show more creature, she feels compelled to add more and more fantastic details to gain their approval. The story ends on an ambiguous note -- do the children realize that she was lying or do they they think this was all a fun game? The lack of definition is a good starting point for a discussion with children about honesty, fitting in, and what Colette should do if ever asked again about her pet. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Also by
- 17
- Members
- 648
- Popularity
- #38,951
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 71
- ISBNs
- 57
- Languages
- 10
- Favorited
- 1
