Gift Ideas For Passionate Readers

Are you looking for a gift idea for someone who loves to read? In this article, the booksellers at Bertrand Bookstore share their favourite books grouped by different themes.

Children’s Selection (because Santa Claus LOVES giving books, EVEN IF they aren’t on the list)

Le Noël de Marguerite, India Desjardins and Pascal Blanchet (La Pastèque, 2021)

Oh, we love this story and the sweetness and tenderness it breathes, with its almost vintage cover thanks to Pascal Blanchet’s subdued and true pencil. It’s a whole other world. Marguerite, who lives alone, no longer likes going out, and decides it’s better that way. It’s less dangerous at her age. She prepares to celebrate the holidays in front of her TV (with champagne and everything!) ...when someone knocks on her door. It’s not quite the human miracle she expected, but something much more beautiful. Like life and Christmas celebrations!

La course des petits bateaux, Fred Pellerin and Annie Boulanger (Sarrazine, 2021)

We enjoyed embarking on Babine’s frail little boat and fell madly in love with Fred Pellerin’s sweet universe. It is a story as tender as our hero’s heart, which of course takes place in Saint-Elie-de-Caxton… Including illustrations by Annie Boulanger, Fred Pellerin’s first foray into children’s story writing is a pearl. We even discovered our skills in making paper boats!

Rose à petits pois, Amélie Callo and Geneviève Godbout (La Pastèque, 2016)

It’s not new, but it’s a delight of a story, one of our darlings. It’s the story of Rose: cheerful on sunny days and a little fairy of kindness toward her neighbours, but whose mood and confidence go down with the weather barometer! That is, until she finds… an umbrella of peas in front of her door and the love hidden inside. It’s rosy, it’s cute, it’s wholesome, and it’s anything but dull. And the illustrations by Geneviève Godbout are marvelous!

Jack et la grand aventure du cochon de Noel, J.K. Rowling and Jim Fields (Gallimard Jeunesse, 2021)

This year’s must-have for children over 8. Also available in English (The Christmas Pig, Scholastic, 2021). Ever since he was little, Jack would always share news, both good and bad, with his plush pig. But on Christmas Eve, his pig disappears. A new plush friend, the Christmas Pig, helps him in his search by bringing him on a magical adventure in the land of Lost Things. Pure sweetness from J.K. Rowling!

Environmental books, for young and old: Society’s BIG subject

Comment tout peut changer, Naomi Klein (Lux, 2021). 12 years and older.

Today, natural disasters are a normal part of our everyday life. So much so, that the newer generations grow up knowing that if things keep going the way they are, Earth will eventually no longer be habitable. But a transformative movement is in progress: today’s youth is rightly fighting against the effects of climate change, to ensure above all else that everyone has a fair future that we can live in. Written specifically for children, but accessible to a wide audience, this book is an homage to their resistance and their strength in mobilizing. A book of rare intellect.

The story of climate change, Catherine Barr and Steve Williams, (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2021) In English only. Starting at 6 years old.

A wonderfully fun and instructive volume that explains the why behind climate change in simple terms, and how these natural evolutions spaced over millions of years are foolishly accelerated by human activity – as well as what we can do to slow the process. This book holds a lot of hope too!

Pour une écologie du 99%, Arnaud Theurillat-Cloutier, Frédéric Legault, Alain Savard, Clément de Gaulejac (Ecosociété, 2021)

A self-defense course in economy and ecology, this dialogue on twenty big myths overturns commonplace beliefs. You will learn why we should denounce overproduction and not overconsumption, or why a capitalist economy founded on renewable energies is unrealistic. You will also learn to better understand the interests and strategies of the fossil fuel industry, to organize our economy in a different way, and to create a popular ecological movement. An antidote to apathy and a gold mine of arguments for all your debates, Pour une écologie du 99% will give both the keys to understanding the origin of this crisis and the necessary impulse to push us to action. Time is closing in, we don’t have the luxury of losing ourselves on false paths.

Pompières et pyromames, Martine Delvaux, (Héliotrope 2021)

Faced with the climate crisis, Martine Delvaux refuses to stay idle and chooses to fight, as a leader of her daughter’s generation and one who resists the deciders and forcefully reclaims the protection of life on Earth. Holding a very supportive view, this book-collage she has created is woven with catastrophes, as well as hope, with fire serving as a central theme. Sacred fire from militant groups, pyres where too many women have perished, foolishly set fires, devastating forest blazes, incendiary rages, and celebratory bonfires: certain flames destroy us, while others light our way. The pyromaniac firefighters living within the pages of this book know which ones to lovingly nurture.

Great Books to Give Away Like Candy

Dessine-moi le Petit Prince: hommage au héros de St-Exupéry (Gallimard, 2021)

The legendary poetic story by St-Exupéry is celebrating 75 years. Just the anniversary to warrant a large format reissue that will finally do justice to the author’s watercolours. Experience homages from thirty artists, from Joann Sfar to Frank Margerin. A truly, truly sublime choice.

L’art et l’âme de Dune, Tanya Lapointe (Hachette, 2021). To be released on December 6th.

An absolute must for those who loved Denis Villeneuve’s most recent film adaptation of Herbert’s novel. As the executive producer of the project, the author explores Dune’s visual universe, from creating the first creature and environment designs to crafting costumes and visual effects. A magnificent reference!

Tout sur Banksy, Alessandra Mattanza, (Alternatives, 2021)

EVERYTHING there possibly is to know about the most celebrated anonymous artist CAN be found in this book. This author evokes the creatures that inhabit their art as well as their social and political engagement. It includes top-notch photography and is such a precise work of literature, that we have to ask ourselves where Alessandra Mattanza gets her sources… 😊