Literature. Geneviève Jannelle, an author from Napierville, released her very first children’s book on October 1st. Published by Québec America editions, The Big Bad Mwa-Mwa-Mwa is aimed at children aged six to ten. The main subject of this work accompanied by illustrations by Jasmine Mirra Turcotte revolves around egocentrism and its harmful consequences from a very young age.
Geneviève Janelle wrote this first album for young people during the confinement imposed by the pandemic. She says she is very happy that The Big Bad Mwa-Mwa-Mwa finally hits the shelves to meet the public.
The 24-page story, available online and in bookstores, follows a little girl named Philomène who loves talking about herself and being the center of attention. She does not pass when playing soccer and often interrupts her classmates.
Until the day she no longer has any friends. Philomène must therefore learn to attenuate the big Mwa-Mwa-Mwa monster in her stomach by listening more to the nice monster Etwa who encourages us to be more interested in others by asking them questions.
Opening
“It’s my contribution to tomorrow’s 5 to 7!” “, jokes Geneviève Jannelle when addressing her main intention behind her children’s album, which is to make children think about egocentrism so that they will be more interested in others once they reach adulthood.
Beyond “egocentrism, the author and mother of three children believes that The Big Bad Mwa-Mwa-Mwa addresses the themes of sensitivity, openness and curiosity towards others.
For Geneviève Jannelle, who consumes a lot of children’s books, it was important that she offer an educational, unusual, original story in which parents can also find what they are looking for.
By working with an illustrator, the author also had to be open in order to avoid surprises during the creation of the project. “When I started working with Jasmine Mirra Turcotte, I already had a lot of ideas about the kind of images I wanted. As the work progressed, I realized that I had to say less so that the illustrator’s work was not just an execution of instructions for her. I really liked what she brought,” confesses Geneviève Jannelle.
Creative process
Since she is a full-time author, the Napierville resident is working on several projects at the same time, in particular the scriptwriting of a film, the identity of which must remain secret for the moment, and the publication abroad of her novel Take your breath.
She therefore adapted the creative process for her first youth album according to her busy schedule. “I set aside evenings during the week where I stayed at work, but to concentrate on my writing project,” summarizes the one who is already working on other books for young people.
The author even declares that she sometimes tests her material with a most formidable and honest audience, namely her three children!
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