The Old Man and the Child

Christine lives in a small windswept prairie city where time moves slowly. One morning, at the height of a hot, dry summer, she befriends an old man who lives just a few streets over. As their unlikely friendship grows, they hatch a plan to visit Lake Winnipeg--a vast inland ocean the old man longs to see again and the young girl can only imagine.

A QR code printed in the book gives access to a recording online of the narrated story.

Novelist Dominique Fortier holds a Ph.D. in literature from McGill University and is also a respected editor and literary translator. Her first novel, Du bon usage des étoiles (2008), was nominated for a Governor General’s Award, and Au péril de la mer (2015) won the Governor General’s Award for French fiction. Her essay Maisons de papier (2020) was awarded the prestigious Prix Renaudot in France. She lives in Montreal. Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983) is one of the most prominent figures in French Canadian literature, and considered one of the great contemporary writers on the human condition. She is the first Canadian to win France’s Prix Femina, for the debut novel Bonheur d’occasion (1945). The translation (The Tin Flute) won the Governor-General’s Award in 1947. Rue Deschambault (1955), known as The Street of Riches in English, closely reflects her life growing up in Manitoba. It also won the Governor-General’s Award in 1957. Gabrielle Roy was awarded a Canada Council Medal in 1968. Rogé is a prolific illustrator, painter and writer, with more than 30 children’s books to his name. He has won numerous awards for his work; amongst many others he is a winner of the prestigious Governor General of Canada Award in 2006 and The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award in 2014. He resides in Montreal.