Le Cadeau de L’Arbre

April 22, 2010 at 9:53 pm | Posted in Bibliophilia, On Our Coffee Table, PrairieFrog Portraits, PrairiefrogsDaily | 17 Comments

One autumn, five years ago, Kaira whirled danced amid the falling leaves in my parents yard. As golden leaves fluttered downward in the wind, she made a joyous game of trying to catch them.

Soon, one little leaf spiraled directly into her cupped hands! Flushed with excitement, she rushed inside: “Mommy! Daddy! Grandpa! Grandma! A leaf fell right into my hands, the tree GAVE it to me. Do you think most people have their very own leaf that a tree gave to them for a present?”

Grandpa found a hefty book and helped her press her treasure for safekeeping. It stayed in the book for a time, but ultimately we laminated it. Now, that laminated leaf serves as a bookmark--in a very special book!

When I blogged Kaira’s experience, it captured the imagination of Nicole Snitselaar, a children’s author in France! Imagine our delight upon discovering a gift from Nicole in our mail box yesterday! Elle: et le cadeau de l’arbre (elle: and the gift of the tree) is in print, and is truly “magnifique!”

We are completely enchanted! Unfortunately, our grasp of French is bumbling, but we can understand the essence and are delighted with the charming details woven into the story. She’s added just the right literary touches to capture the magic of the changing seasons through the wondering eyes of a child. Exquisite illustrations are the perfect compliment to Nicole’s story telling. This book is lovely in every way!

We hope to find someone to read and translate the entirely story to us more fluently soon!

Printed on the title page is a beautiful dedication,

À Kaira, la petite héroïne de cette historie vraie. N.S.

Merci, Nicole! Kaira is sure to treasure this lovely book her whole life. What an honor!

This book is sold in both France (through amazon.fr) and Canada (through amazon.ca.) Someday, I hope it will be published in English too.

17 Comments »

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What a treasured gift!

Comment by Anonymous— April 22, 2010 #

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That is SO cool!! (and I recognize the dress LOL)
- Heidi

Comment by Anonymous— April 22, 2010 #

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How neat!!

~ Rachelle
http://www.donotgrowweary.com/blog

Comment by Anonymous— April 22, 2010 #

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Is to reading your sweet words and admiring these wonderfull pictures!
I am proud to have written for such a lovely young girl!(and a gorgeous family!)
Merci Beaucoup
Nicole

http://comptines.over-blog.com/

Comment by Nicole— April 22, 2010 #

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Sorry but I started my sentence in the "subjetc " section…
It was:
My gift
is to be able to read… etc…

Comment by Nicole— April 22, 2010 #

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What a treasured memento that will always be to her. Love your photos of Kiara enjoying her book.

Comment by Tally in Congo— April 22, 2010 #

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wonderful lovely girl and story–Dell and Nicole!

Comment by Anonymous— April 22, 2010 #

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The leaf, the book, the pictures and girl –
ALL TREASURES !!!
Grumpy Dave

Comment by Anonymous— April 22, 2010 #

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That is just simply lovely and I love these photos of Kaira. I always love your photography! I also love Kaira's dress… whimsical and sweet!

Comment by quietcajun— April 22, 2010 #

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This brought tears to my eyes. What a sweet thing for Nicole to do! This will be a cherished blessing for years to come.

Comment by Cheri— April 22, 2010 #

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Dell –
At one time I was fluent in French, still read it a fair amount of proficiency and have kept my Larousse dictionaries. If you have not found anyone to translate your book, and are willing to loan it to me for a short time, have Ken and Kendra bring it to their next HD lesson and I'll type up a translation for you.

Comment by Alice— April 22, 2010 #

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The dedication reads "To Kaira, the little heroine of this true story"

Comment by Alice— April 22, 2010 #

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Alice that would be fabulous! We would treasure the gift of a translation as well, and I'll send it with Ken and Kendra to the next lesson. Thank you!

Comment by Dell— April 22, 2010 #

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What an absolutely precious gift ~ and such a sweet story that started it all! [lovely photos as well, of course!]

Comment by Molytail— April 23, 2010 #

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What a precious story! And the pictures of your sweet daughter are absolutely <i>lovely!</i>

Diane from Tomato Soup Cake
http://tomatosoupcake.blogspot.com/

Comment by Anonymous— April 23, 2010 #

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…and utterly lovely.

Comment by Sadie— April 23, 2010 #

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Dell, that is such exciting news. How neat is that! You aught to write a book yourself – I love the way you write

Comment by OldPathsMom— April 30, 2010 #

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