It was on the theme of emotion that the inauguration of this 25th edition of the Children's Book Fair took place on Friday December 6. And there was emotion! Illustrators and volunteers proved that this show, which extended well beyond the borders of Ploufragan, was like a big family.
Tribute to Didier Dufresnes
They all, in turn, took to the stage to pay tribute to Didier Dufresne, who died last June. The author was here, a year earlier, among his family, at the Louis-Guilloux school. “When he returned to Dijon, he told us that he was going to the hospital to clean the pipes. He never came home…”, report the co-presidents of the Ploufragan festival, Michèle Le Tinier and Catherine Honor.
For his part, Jean-Yves Le Doualan, the former president of the Book Fair, could not hold back his tears: “We are losing a brother with an unrivaled sense of humor. In 2012, we did not invite him. He then made this thought to us: for having chosen the theme on the tree and with a name like mine, how did you manage not to put me on the list? »
Alex Cousseau, not holding grudges
An oversight, the guest of honor of this 2024 edition, Alex Cousseau, also suffered one, here. It was fifteen years ago. “I arrived at Saint-Brieuc station and there I waited, but no one came to pick me up. So, I walked in the cold to the Relais Beaucemaine in Ploufragan. There, I open the door, I see a large table and the astonishment of the volunteers who by their look measured the importance of the mistake: they had forgotten to collect me. So we can start a failed story, and a beautiful story fifteen years later. Well done, you hit the nail on the head, this show is a marvel,” says the author, a fan of the Ploufragan event.
This highlight of the festival was also marked by the texts read by the students of the Louis-Guilloux school, as well as the interpretation of “The song of emotions”.
France
Books
