On New Year's eve, 1847, eleven-year-old Baptiste finds himself far from
his friends and family and his home in La Beauce. He has come to the
woods of the Ottawa Valley to live and work among "the finest
lumberjacks in Canada." As the New Year approaches, Baptiste and the
lumberjacks grow more and more homesick. Resolved to see their families
again before the stroke of midnight, the crew board a magical canoe that
lifts them into the air, across villages, and closer to home.
This beautiful retelling of the Quebecois folktale reunites Roch Carrier
with illustrator Sheldon Cohen and translator Sheila Fischman. (The
Hockey Sweater, The Basketball Player, The Longest Home Run), and
brings this beloved story to life.