Stephane Poulin

Background

Stephane Poulin was born on December 12, 1961 in Montreal, Canada, one of nine children. He grew up in a French-speaking household.

Education

Stephane Poulin studied graphic arts at College Ahuntsic.

Career

Poulin's first picture book, a bilingual alphabet book, was published in 1985 and warmly received by critics and young readers alike. A Beautiful City ABC employed Montreal as the backdrop for this first introduction to the alphabet. To gather images of the city where he grew up, Poulin pedaled a bicycle around the old quarters of the city, taking photos from which he crewed oil paintings.

The first of Poulin’s "Josephine" books, Have You Seen Josephine?, is set in Montreal’s East End and has the cream-colored cat eluding its owner, Daniel, through that picturesque part of the city. Again, work- tog from photographs and in oil with primary colors, Poulin blended his images with a simple and sometimes lyrical text. Finally, Daniel tracks Josephine down to the neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Gagnon, who have a party for the cats of the neighborhood every weekend. Part of the fun of this initial book and with the subsequent "Josephine" titles is the fact that Poulin partially hides the cat in his richly detailed paintings, and the reader must search for her along with Daniel.

With his award-winning Benjamin and the Pillow Saga, Poulin visited a fabulist theme with the story of shy Benjamin who works in a pillow factory.

Poulin explores his own past in two titles, My Mother's Loves and Travels for Two, both of which have the evocative subtitle, Stories and Lies from My Childhood. Recalling the days of his single mother bringing up nine children, Poulin has fashioned stylized recollections, a "blend of nostalgia and whimsy". The first in the series tells of the family living in a tiny one-room house. The mother meets and falls in love with another man, and soon marries him, increasing the size of the family with the man’s own numerous children. With Travels for Two, Poulin continued the adventures of this family as they parachute from an airplane, are marooned on a desert island, and are set upon by pirates.

Poulin’s illustrations for the texts of other authors have proven equally as successful as his self-illustrated titles, winning illustration awards, and a wider international audience.

Achievements

• Stephane Poulin is known for his whimsical images that tell very human stories. He published over a hundred books in North America and Canada. Poulin won numerous international prizes acclaiming his art as an illustrator. In 1983, he received honourable mention as a children's book illustrator in a competition held by Communication-Jeunesse. A year later he was awarded Best in Show. In 1986 his books Album de famille and As-tu vu Joséphine? received the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize for illustration. Album de famille also received the Prix Québec-Wallonie-Bruxelles de littérature de jeunesse. Stephane is also a recipient of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People and Mr. Christie Book Award.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Outspoken Princess and The Gentle Knight: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales

    (A collection of modern fairy tales presents familiar stor...)

    1994
  • The King's Giraffe

    (A whimsical historical tale follows the adventures of Abd...)

    1996
  • Can You Catch Josephine?

    (Daniel's cat, Josephine, wanders from classroom to librar...)

    1987
  • Have You Seen Josephine?

    (Daniel trails his cat through the streets of Montreal to ...)

    1986
  • Christmas Eve Magic

    (Barton, a very spoiled and snobbish young pig, hates Chri...)

    2006
  • Earth to Audrey

    (AAudrey comes into Ray's life like an earthbound star. Ev...)

    2005
  • Little Zizi

    (The book was illustrated by Stéphane Poulin.)

    1997
  • Could you stop Josephine?

    (Josephine’s back, but not for long. This time that escapi...)

    1988
  • La formule de marque

Views

Known for his blend of fantasy, realism, and humor, Poulin uses themes such as family, togetherness, and love, and works in primary colors to create striking images.

Personality

Stephane Poulin is noted for his offbeat humor and sophisticated design.

Connections

Stephane Poulin has two children - Gabriel and Camille.

child:

Gabriel Poulin

child:

Camille Poulin