Growing up is always just a little too much for a kid to handle, but taking your time is all it takes
Tweeny-bopper Elise knows she’s different, but kind of just chalks it up to being a weirdo. And in the 90s, who isn’t? Other girls might be shifting their attention to boys, but Elise is putting the freeze on all that adult stuff to get lost in play with her besties and pour her energy into making her art. Besides, what’s the point in rushing when being a kid is such a blast?
In True Colors: Growing Up Weird in the 90s, Elise invites readers into the pages of her diary and takes them back to a radically different time before smartphones and home computers. It’s a world where fun means going to the mall and making mix tapes on cassette, and where imagination reigns supreme! It’s also a world where making new friends can be confusing, nerve-wracking, and utterly mind-boggling.
Creative and curious kids, anybody dealing with anything from not fitting in, to anxiety—or even an ADHD diagnosis—will see themselves in the pages. And through it all, Gravel shows the power of art and creativity to transform, as we see Elise turning her differences into her superpower in this funny and encouraging artistic origin story.

ELISE GRAVEL a écrit et illustré une trentaine d’albums jeunesse. L’auteure use d’un humour mordant pour exprimer ses vues et éveiller le sens critique de ses jeunes lecteurs. En 2022, Elise a remporté le prix Vicky Metclaf, qui souligne le travail d’un auteur ou d’une auteure jeunesse. Elle a également reçu le prix du Gouverneur général en 2012 dans la catégorie illustrations pour son livre La clé à molette, de même que le prix Droits et Libertés et des droits de la jeunesse.

ELISE GRAVEL has won a Governor General's Award for illustration, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, the Rights and Freedoms Award from the Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, two Applied Arts Awards and a Grafika Award. She also was short-listed for Mr. Christie's Book Award. She has written and illustrated over 30 books for children in both French and English including Not Me (Pas moi), Everybody! (Tout le monde! and It's My Body! (C'est mon corps!). Elise lives in Montreal, Quebec.

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