10/26/2020
In 1973, a 28-year-old woman got on a motorcycle in Paris and circled the globe alone, crossing continents, scaling mountains, and visiting parts of the planet that most people never see. This engaging picture book biography by Novesky (Cloth Lullaby) is full of the sense of freedom that its subject, Anne-France Dautheville, a white woman, reveled in. Although things went wrong—her bike broke down repeatedly, and she fell often—her experiences as a traveler affirmed her expectations: “I want the world to be beautiful, and it is beautiful. I want people to be good, and they are good.” Morstad uses delicate lines and luminous wash to draw the things the “girl” carried (“girl,” used throughout, is an English translation of the French word demoiselle, which Dautheville used for herself), the people she met, and the scenery she rode through. Readers follow her from the Yukon, where she finds transcendent beauty in a warm pool under the Northern Lights, to Afghanistan, where she climbs the great Buddhas of Bamiyan, and home to Paris. She drinks in new experiences and brings new ideas everywhere she goes: “Who are you? ...Where are you going?” girls in Bombay ask her. Though the book fails to address matters of privilege inherent in global travel, it’s a testimony to fearlessness that challenges traditional gender expectations. Ages 5–9. (Sept.)
★ "On more subtle display is the goodness Dautheville finds in people everywhere she travels, effectively demonstrating the beauty of cultures different from our own." —Booklist, starred review
★ "Morstad’s sophisticated, retro-chic artwork lovingly evokes the time frame dictated by the real life adventures of French writer Anne-France Dautheville, first woman to go around the world by motorcycle . . . The result is part documentary, part dreamscape with strong crossover appeal for fans of history and of romantic adventure, all of whom will find their curiosity assuaged in an endnote that explores Dautheville’s experience (complete with photographic confirmation) and Novesky’s own dream-chasing research and interview." —BCCB, starred review
"For picture book collections aimed at older readers, this is likely to touch something profound in teen or preteen lovers of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden as well as those who hear the siren call of travel."—School Library Journal
"A lovely tribute to both the pioneering motorcyclist and the joys of the open road." —The Horn Book
"A testimony to fearlessness that challenges traditional gender expectations." —Publishers Weekly
08/21/2020
Gr 6–10—Based on Anne-France Dautheville's solo ride around the world in the 1970s, this poetic journey follows an unnamed young Parisian of that era who makes good on her dream "to go Elsewhere." In two epic overland segments she travels across Canada, and then from Bombay to Paris—across vast prairies, deserts, and mountain ranges—stopping for warm encounters with local residents in many lands or (a realistic recurring theme) to repair her motorcycle, but mostly spending long hours alone: "Time passes. And doesn't." Using varied layouts and a shifting monochrome color scheme that lends her unframed panels a retro look, Morstad begins by depicting each tool and personal item the traveler carries in her minimal luggage, then goes on to place gracefully posed figures with expressive, delicate features in settings ranging from looming hills and barren, distant vistas to busy cityscapes. Following a climactic or at least epiphanic, visit to the towering Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan (with a poignant mention of their later destruction), the young woman makes her way home at last, arriving "sunburned, bruised, and beaming." Novesky quotes Dautheville's "I want the world to be beautiful, and it is beautiful./ I want people to be good, and they are good," then concludes the spare narrative with a biographical note illustrated with photos. VERDICT For picture book collections aimed at older readers, this is likely to touch something profound in teen or preteen lovers of Henry David Thoreau's Walden as well as those who hear the siren call of travel.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York
2020-07-28
“She dreams of wandering the world.”
Striking, light-filled illustrations with the look of mid-20th-century monotone prints and informative, evocative text tell the true story of Anne-France Dautheville, a White journalist who left her home in Paris in 1972 to embark on a decadelong, international motorcycle journey that she depicted in a series of articles and memoirs. While her writing is mentioned, the focus here is on the travels themselves, told with realistic, dreamlike detail from the perspective of a lone woman imbued with a sense of awe and freedom. Obstacles involving falls from and repairs of her bike are included, and the surprise and respect she received from girls along the way help depict the view and position of women during the time period. The use of the word girl in the title is a misnomer as Dautheville was 28 when she began her travels, though this may be a translation issue (the title echoes that of Dautheville’s 1973 memoir, Une demoiselle sur une moto); more disappointing is the use of the word girl throughout the book, from both a feminist perspective and a factual one. Still, word choice aside, this is an exhilarating story of an independent Frenchwoman who challenged prevailing beliefs to follow her heart, to travel, and to observe and describe different cultures and countries (Canada, India, and Afghanistan are highlighted) from a unique, outsider’s point of view. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 67.8% of actual size.)
A poetic, visually stunning depiction of a young woman’s travels via motorcycle with dated descriptors. (biographical note, author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)
