The Adventures of Miss Petitfour

Meet the utterly irresistible Miss Petitfour (a name of unknown origin but possibly descended from bakers of tiny delicious cakes). She loves baking and making and dancing with her cats, but most of all she loves to fly. All she has to do is pick up a favourite tablecloth (preferably the one with the paisley print), catch the breeze and she swooshes off on an adventure – with her many cats (Minky, Misty, Taffy, Purrsia, Pirate, Mustard, Moutarde, Hemdala, Earring, Grigorovich, Clasby, Captain Captain, Captain Catkin, Captain Clothespin, Your Shyness and Sizzles) dangling paw-to-tail behind her.

In five utterly captivating stories of gentle adventure, delicious edibles (with cheese for the cats), occasional peril and heart-zinging warmth, poet and novelist Anne Michaels (author of bestselling, award-winning Fugitive Pieces) makes a charming, purrfect debut as a children’s author.

Review

Starred in CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2016)
Selection 2018 – BookRiot 50 Must-Read Canadian Children’s and YA Books

“Block’s charming, full-color illustrations complement the tales in a decidedly mid-20th-century modern style …. An homage to classic fantasies for an audience willing to suspend all disbelief and just go along for the ride.” – Kirkus Reviews

“In her first children’s book, adult author Michaels presents five stories driven equally by whimsy and self-aware humor …. Michaels is fond of digressions, one of many vocabulary words she highlights as the narrative comments on the peculiarities of storytelling …. Block’s delicate color illustrations are ideally suited to Miss Petitfour’s subdued and decidedly eccentric adventures, which involve everything from an empty marmalade jar to a lost stamp.” – Publisher’s Weekly

..”.. It’s comedic irreverence and spirited play with words, names, and pirate lore will remind readers of Mary Poppins and Pippi Longstocking. Children will savor the whimsical language and conversational tone as well as the nameless village with its wordless wooden signs ….” – starred review, School Library Journal

“Toronto’s new poet laureate is known for her moody adult poetry and fiction, so it came as a surprise when her kidlit debut turned out to be a fun and whimsical confection of sweet stories about a young woman and her 16 cats who take to the sky using a tablecloth as a sort of non-hot air balloon. Full of delightful language that skips and lilts off the page and the tongue, Michael’s first book for kids might even be better than the stuff she writes for adults.” – Quill & Quire

“The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is a sweet and witty little book, great for kids who already love tea parties, arts and crafts and cats, and those who have yet to discover life’s smaller pleasures.” –Canadian Children’s Book News

Book Description
Discover the delicious world of Miss Petitfour – packed with the playful spirit of Pippi Longstocking, the charm of Mary Poppins, with CAKE and CATS. This first children’s novel from award-winning poet and novelist Anne Michaels makes a perfect present for anyone aged from six to sixty