“Anthropomorphic or not, many animals in illustrated children’s literature speak: they soliloquise, converse with each other or with humans. Other beasts use languages that are very different from articulated language, that delegated or borrowed skill. Silent, cryptic, domesticated or wild, the various ways in which animals express themselves in children’s books have not only narrative implications, but also moral and philosophical ones, which we, beasts that we are, will be seeking to highlight.”

Christian Bruel has been a creator and publisher of children’s books for nearly forty years. He is also a trainer in children’s literature, with a particular focus on the cultural and social issues surrounding children’s reading. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Agence quand les livres relient. Last November he published “L’aventure politique du livre jeunesse” (The political adventure of children’s books), published by La Fabrique :