On the Road to Our Home Town

Content : A picture book that takes readers back to the 1980s on a long journey to Morocco.

A little boy looks back on the most important journeys of his childhood: going on vacation, coming back to his hometown! He chooses a particular angle: his mother's habit of accumulating all sorts of gifts over the course of the year, in response to family requests. He recounts the stores where she and her sisters would drag them, the phone calls back home and the drawings she made to make sure she did not forget anything. And so, they lived among these colourful packages for most of the year, until the day they left. Then it was her father's turn to display his talents: he always managed to fit all the presents into the car or onto its roof, forming an unstable pyramid. The journey could then begin, and it wasn't long before other equally loaded cars joined them on the road to Spain and then Morocco. A truly motley convoy!

The strength of this story lies in its authenticity and its multitude of revealing details. The habits of the parents, the children's games among the packages, the arrival of department stores and the Internet in Morocco... And how can we not evoke the summers from the 70s to the 90s, families from North Africa crossing France, Spain and the Mediterranean for the vacations. Cars filled to the brim, criss-crossing the roads and taking families back to their origins. A story about a little piece of life.

About the author: Karim Ressouni-Demigneux lives and works in Paris. With a doctorate in art history and a specialization in the Renaissance, he has worked in a variety of fields: journalism, science and literature, especially for young people. He has traveled and lived all over the world, in China, Morocco, Brazil and Italy.

About the illustrator: Karine Maincent lives and works in Nancy. A talented illustrator and graphic designer, she has traveled the world and lived for several years in Benin. Her illustrations include many humorous touches and small details that complement the author's words with finesse and humour.