• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

For several months, Quebec illustrator Rogé prepared a series of portraits of Haitian children. Students of Camp Perrin wrote the accompanying poems, which create, with flowing consistency, Haiti, my Country. These teenaged poets use the Haitian landscape as their easel. The nature that envelops them is quite clearly their main subject. While misery often storms through Haiti in the form of earthquakes, cyclones, or floods, these young men and women see their surrounding nature as assurance for a joyful, confident future.

Rog�
As a child, Rog� (Roger Girard) knew that he wanted to be an artist. After earning a degree in graphic design at Universit� Laval, he worked in advertising for five years before working in international cooperation in the Dominican Republic. While there, he created large murals in a local village. He returned to Montreal, changed by this experience, and decided to devote himself to illustration. Since then, his creations have illustrated ad campaigns, posters and magazines, but it is the world of children's literature and its lack of constraints that has given him the freedom to create, and develop his own style. He was a GG finalist in 2002. Rog� lives in Montreal.

Rogé's profile page

• Winner, The New York Times Best Illustrated Books

"While a majority of the poems are light in tone, a few of the students are heartbreakingly honest in describing the reality of their lives and nation. A portrait of the teenaged poet accompanies each poem. Illustrated by Rogé, these striking portraits give each piece a heartbeat and soul. They provide the reader with the opportunity to contemplate not only the words but also the writer. Haiti, My Country is a deeply poignant poetry collection that will introduce young readers to both an unfamiliar land and their own potential as poets.
Highly Recommended."