• Age: 3 to 5
• Grade: p to k
• Reading age: 3 to 5

Today, Maybe is a story about a little girl who is waiting for someone, a friend. She doesn't yet know who it will be.

In a series of surprising and humorous encounters, several well-known characters of children's literature arrive at her door. But none of them are the one she is waiting for, and she graciously sends them all away. With her bird to keep her company and hope filling her heart, weeks and then months pass as she waits and waits. When there is a scratch at the door one night, certainty fills the little girl's heart, and she opens the door to discover true friendship is indeed worth waiting for.

Dominique Demers is a professional communicator. She worked as a journalist for L'actualité, as a teacher at the University of Quebec at Montreal, and as literary critic for Le Devoir, before becoming an author, speaker, and scriptwriter. She has written more than 30 children's books and also writes for adults. She has been nominated four times for the Governor General's Literary Awards. She was the honorary president of the Salon du livre de Montréal for three years and, since the fall of 2003, she has starred on Radio-Canada's programme Dominique raconte, where she reads books to young children.

Dominique Demers' profile page

 

GABRIELLE GRIMARD a illustré plus de 30 albums, dontLes mots volés, Quand j’avais huit ans, Fatima et les voleurs de clémentines, Aujourd'hui peut-être... et les livres de la série Petit Gnouf. Elle est aussi l'auteure-illustratrice de l'album Lila et la corneille. Gabrielle habite aux environs de Montréal.

 

From the time she was little GABRIELLE GRIMARD loved art, dismaying her elementary school teachers by constantly drawing in class. Later Gabrielle studied art in high school and university. After her son was born, she began illustrating children’s books and has now created more than 25, including When I Was Eight (Quand j'avais huit ans), Stolen Words (Les mots volés) and Not My Girl (Où est ma fille?). Lila and the Crow (Lila et la corneille) is the first book she both wrote and illustrated. She uses watercolours, gouache and oil to create images of amazing warmth and depth. Gabrielle lives near Montreal, QC. Visit her at https://www.gabriellegrimard.com.

Gabrielle Grimard's profile page

Priscilla Holbrook's profile page

• Commended, OneWorld Schoolhouse Foundation Rainforest of Reading
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Canada Honour List

"The artist's skillful use of space for bold closeups give the book persuasive power...Demers's tale has a confidential, knowing air that some readers will like very much."

Publishers Weekly

"Grimard's beautiful artwork perfectly matches the story with moody colors and detail-rich images. Perspectives change often to add interest and hold the listener's attention. There is danger and fear, wit and courage, beauty and grace....and oh yes, a happy ending!"

Sal's Fiction Addiction blog

"Demers plays with familiar fairy-tale tropes, imbuing her heroine with confidence, purpose, and charm. Grimard’s demure paintings fill the large-trim pages, with vines, fruits, and teapots recalling the work of Mary Engelbreit, while bones and fangs add a tempered edge. The result is a work of clever, poetic sweetness, with familiar folktale imagery giving way to tender surprise. A whimsical choice for both family sharing and gift giving."

Booklist

"In this modern fairy tale, the power of traditional evil archetypes is removed by a young girl's inner confidence in herself, her value and her destiny...The beautiful, warm illustrations greatly add to the text. Glowing full and double page watercolour washes are filled with oil, gouache and pencil illustrations...Referencing many symbols and figures from [the fairy tale] tradition, [it] is of interest to a wide audience. Recommended."

CM Magazine

"Demers' tale is wonderfully crafted and exquisitely translated into English by Sheila Fischman. The illustrations, in soft shades of colour, blend ideally with a story that resonates as a dream on a cool summer night."

Resource Links

"The illustrations are beautiful and a bit surreal...Watercolor, gouache, oils and pencils make layers of color with depth and translucence...[Today Maybe is] lovely in itself, with its promise of the power of story and imagination, and the wait for the perfect, sublime friend."

Kirkus Reviews

"Expansive gouache, oil, and watercolour paintings reveal the fairy-tale quality of this lyrical story...Beautiful to look at and listen to."

The Horn Book Guide

"The water colored paper illustrations using gouache, oil paint, and aquarelle pencils, are quite beautiful."

Tucson Unified School District

"Perhaps one of the most imaginative and beautifully executed picture books so far of 2011...The lilting text has a sophistication to it that's as comforting as a cup of hot chocolate. And young readers will love nods to familiar fairy tale characters while enjoying a new, delightful tale. The illustrations in Today, Maybe are top notch with great attention to detail paired with just a touch of whimsy. The expressive looks on each character's face are spot on, and the muted tones are warm and welcoming...A definite must when adding to your home library."

Cracking the Cover blog

[Starred review] "As evocative and mysterious as a traditional fairytale, Today, Maybe is an unusual picture book with strong emotional impact. Sheila Fischman's able translation...leaves subtle echoes of the French original that add to the magical atmosphere...The mood of Demers's poetic story is beautifully matched by Grimard's images with their rich colours, exquisite and sometimes quirky details."

Quill & Quire

"Filled with whimsy and grand imagination, this lovely story is a gentle read...A story of gentleness and the benefits of patience as well as an excursion into the land of make believe. The illustrations are beautifully rendered in water colors supporting the calm movement of the story...A beautiful piece of art."

Southwest Ohio and Neighboring Libraries (SWON)