• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

See below for English description.

Anna vit son existence dans l’ombre. Ses frères et sœurs se moquent d’elle en raison de sa maladresse constante qu’elle ne peut ni expliquer ni contrôler, et elle peine à lire malgré tous ses efforts. Un jour, son père annonce que la famille quitte l’Allemagne pour s’installer au Canada : après la disparition de quelques voisins juifs, il pressent les conséquences de l’arrivée au pouvoir des nazis. À cette annonce, le coeur d’Anna s’effondre. Comment pourra-t-elle apprendre une nouvelle langue alors qu’elle ne sait même pas lire correctement l’allemand?

Mais lorsque la famille Solden arrive au Canada, Anna apprend qu’il y a une raison à sa maladresse : sa faible vue. Et soudain, merveilleusement, tout son monde commence à changer. Surtout lorsque ses nouveaux amis, dans une classe spéciale de l’école, l’aident à tenir tête à des brutes qui l’insultent.

Ce véritable classique canadien de Jean Little a été publié pour la première fois en anglais en 1972. Il s’agit d’un récit inspirant sur la persévérance face à une déficience visuelle qui s’aggrave, écrit par quelqu’un qui a vécu cette expérience.

A beloved Canadian favourite is available again with a fresh new cover and classic interior illustrations for its 50th anniversary.

Anna lives life in the shadows. Her siblings tease her for a constant clumsiness that she cannot explain or control, and she struggles to read despite her best efforts. When Papa announces that the family is moving from Germany to Canada — after the disappearance of some Jewish neighbours, he can see what the Nazis' rise to power will bring — Anna's heart sinks. How can she learn English when she can't even read German properly? But when the Soldens arrive in Canada, Anna learns that there is a reason for her clumsiness: her failing eyesight. Suddenly, wonderfully, her whole world begins to change. Especially when her new friends in a special class at school help her stand up to some bullies who call her names.

This true Canadian classic by Jean Little was first published in English in 1972 and is an inspiring tale of persevering in the face of worsening visual impairment written by someone with lived experience.

Original title: From Anna

Jean Little was born in Taiwan in 1932. Her parents were both doctors. Jean grew up in Ontario and graduated from the University of Toronto. She was born with a severe eye problem and is severely visually impaired. A special "talking" computer assists her with her writing. She has a retired seeing-eye dog named Ritz and a new one named Pippa, with whom she travels. The author focuses on her experiences from the time she was a child through young adulthood in her autobiography, Little by Little, and continues her story in Stars Come Out Within. The books, which will appeal to children 10 and older, are both humorous and poignant as Jean describes living with a disability and the ridicule she sometimes experienced as a result, as well as her love for the world of reading and books. Jean's books include From Anna, Listen for the Singing, Stand In The Wind, Mama's Going To Buy You a Mockingbird, Hey World, Here I Am!, Look through My Window, Emma's Yucky Brother, The Belonging Place, and Mine For Keeps. Listen for the Singing was the Canada Council Children's Literature Award winner in 1977. Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird was the CLA Book of the Year in 1985.
Jean Little's first book, Mine for Keeps, won the Little, Brown Children's Book Award in 1962 and was republished by Viking Penguin in 1995. It tells the story of Sally Copeland, a 10 year old with cerebral palsy, and her adjustment to being home after spending several years in a special school. You'll find that several of the themes in this book appear in a number of the author's other books: dealing with a handicap and the responses of others, fitting in, and adjusting to new situations and surroundings.
http://www.jeanlittle.com/

Jean Little's profile page

JOAN SANDIN est née au Wisconsin, elle a grandi à Tucson, en Arizona, et elle a vécu 15 ans à Stockholm, en Suède. Elle a toujours aimé dessiner et elle a illustré son premier livre – une histoire écrite par son grand frère Tom – à l’âge de cinq ans. Joan a trois enfants et plus d’une dizaine de petits-enfants, et elle a publié plus de 100 livres en anglais et en suédois. Elle est de retour en Arizona, où elle continue d’illustrer, d’écrire et de traduire des livres pour enfants.

Joan Sandin's profile page