Gabrielle Grimard was born in Montreal. Much to the dismay of her teachers in the early grades, Gabrielle was constantly drawing in class. For her, drawing was a way of keeping her concentration focused. Gabrielle studied art, first in high school, then at Concordia, and finally at l’Université du Québec à Montréal (l’UQÀM). Although Gabrielle took on many art projects after graduating, she did not start illustrating picture books until after the birth of her son. Her artwork appears in over 25 children’s books. Lila and the Crow is the first book she has authored.

 Lila and the Crow

Lila has just moved to a new town and can’t wait to make friends at school. But on the first day, a boy points at her and shouts: “The new girl’s hair is black like a crow!” The others whisper and laugh, and Lila’s heart grows as heavy as a stone. The next day, Lila covers her hair. But this time, the boy points at her dark skin. When she covers her face, he mocks her dark eyes. Now every day at school, Lila hides under her turtleneck, dark glasses and hat, feeling sad and alone. But at her lowest point of despair, a magical encounter with a crow opens Lila’s eyes to the beauty of being different, and gives her the courage to proudly embrace her true self. A touching story on the impact of bullying and finding the strength to overcome such adversity, Lila and the Crow is sensitively and powerfully illustrated by Grimard.

Lila et la Corneille

Lila vient d’emménager dans une nouvelle ville. Excitée à l’idée de se faire de nouveaux amis, elle est abasourdie lorsque, dès le premier jour d’école, un petit garçon montre du doigt ses cheveux couleur ébène et la traite de corneille. Le cœur lourd, Lila aperçoit une corneille en rentrant chez elle. Elle tente de chasser l’oiseau, mais il semble l’attendre chaque soir. Jour après jour, l’oiseau sombre donnera un peu d’espoir à Lila et lui insufflera le courage d’être elle-même et de briller. Une histoire poignante sur l’intimidation et sur l’acceptation de nos différences et de celles des autres.