Alain Grée

Seraphin is a ticket-puncher at the Paris Metro but dreams of a life filled with beauty and fresh air. When he inherits a property with a dilapidated house on it, he uses his savings to repair it to a glorious new structure. But his happiness is fleeting as Seraphin learns when officials come to his door threatening to tear down his home to make way for modern buildings.

This was a particularly strange read. The first thing that struck me was how wordy it is. This is the second picture book in translation I read this year that had such lengthy sentences and paragraphs on each page. European children must have a much longer attention span than American children; I would definitely not recommend this to younger kids, only to those in the upper elementary school-age range.

The book doesn't follow a traditional narrative arc of introduction-problem-climax-resolution-conclusion. It seems to keep meandering off into different subplots that disappear as quickly as they arise. For instance, on one page spread only, various inanimate objects in Seraphin's house come to life as he sleeps. The reader never hears of this again.

The character of Plume was also rather unusual -- he appears to be a small child with no real guardians, as he spends all his time with an old man of no relation to him and nobody questions this at all. Seraphin seems like a kindly enough fellow, but I still found this a bit disturbing.

The illustrations are well done when it comes to the unusual structures and mechanics that Seraphin builds, and these whimsical bits were my favorite part of the book. However, the illustrations of people all came off looking very cartoon-ish and too alike; there is zero diversity in them, despite France being one of the more diverse countries in Europe.

The ending was way out there and I don't know what to make of it. As an adult, it seems like Seraphin and Plume are working their way into non-existence, but I suppose a child would have a more magical explanation for their endless staircases into the sky.… (meer)

Having fallen into the job of ticket collector in the Paris Metro, the eponymous Seraphin doesn't particularly care for his job, and ends up getting fired when he abandons his post to rescue a butterfly. Together with his friend Plume, who lives in the same building as he does, Seraphin ends up renovating a run-down old house he inherits, making it into a magical place. But what will he and Plume do when the authorities show up, and begin to build horrible apartment buildings? Will they be evicted? Will their house be demolished? Or will they find a way to escape...?

Originally published in French in 1967, as Le merveilleux chef-d'oevre de Séraphin, and just made available in English this year (2019) by the Brooklyn-based Elsewhere Editions, who specialize in translating international children's books, Seraphin is a somewhat quirky picture-book. The story is rather sad, and is clearly a product of its time, with the somewhat dreamy, individualistic and artistic Seraphin being pitted against the heartless forces of authority and society, whether represented by his boss at the Metro, or by the construction workers threatening to tear down his home. I'm not sure I found the conclusion, in which Seraphin and Plume escape into the sky either believable or that satisfying, but other than that I found the story interesting, and the artwork lovely. There's a magical feeling to the visuals here that is most appealing, and I'm glad to have had the chance to read this one. With the caveat that the ending isn't that inspiring, this one is recommended to young readers who feel out of step with society around them.… (meer)