Phileas's Fortune: A Story About Self-Expression

Agnès de Lestrade loves to write stories. But when she is not writing, reading, or brewing a cup of tea, she invents games to make people laugh and tearful songs to sing. She has published more than 20 books. Her book Mes yeux menthe à l'eau was a finalist for the 2008 Tam-Tam Award.

Valeria Docampo's inspiration for her art is rooted in everyday life: the eyes of a dog, the shape of trees, the sound of rainfall, and the aromas of breakfast. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she is a graduate in Graphic Design & Visual Communication from the University of Buenos Aires. She has illustrated several books for children, notably Pequenos y Gigantes, Celebra Kwanzaa con Botitas y sus gatitos, La soupe à la tortue.

• Nautilus Gold Award Winner

The exquisite and evocative sepia-tone paintings, highlighted with bold, vibrant reds, beautifully illustrate the poetic text and breathe life into the characters. Demonstrating that what we say is not nearly as important as how we say it, this import provides a wonderful springboard for discussing the power of words and the importance of honesty and sincerity. It will be a welcome addition to picture-book collections and useful to teachers engaged in values education.
—School Library Journal

In a strange land in which factories churn out words and people must purchase and swallow any words they want to speak, Phileas captures stray words floating in the air, like sugar or daisy, to say to his parents at dinnertime. He finds and saves three beautiful words to say to Cybele, who lives next door, and whose birthday is tomorrow. But how can he compete with Oscar, who can afford to buy whole sentences of expensive words? In this lovely tale, the power of sincerity and love invest even simple words with tenderness.
—ForeWord Magazine