Praise for Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez
2020 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Children's Picture Book Award finalist
2020 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens Spring Selection
“Bewitching...[Mister Rodriguez’s] absence prompts a strong sense of community as [the children] band together to say their goodbyes…Thisdale’s realistic yet dreamlike illustrations, windswept with mist and surreal painted skies, add to the sense of wonder.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The story line speaks to the reality of death in a whimsical way, introducing it by way of it occurring to someone known by the children in the book but not someone with whom they were particularly close. VERDICT Young children beginning to learn about the concept of death will find this book to be an easy introduction to this inevitability in their lives.”—School Library Journal
“[A] surreal allegory...Acrylic and digitally altered artwork by Thisdale offers crisp, photographic realism, with misty skies of purple and green that suggest atmospheric otherworldliness.”—Publishers Weekly
“Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez has found another gap to fill: what about the death of a neighbour, or those people you see every day but don’t know all that well? Those who, when they suddenly disappear, take a part of the community with them?...No tears, no sentimentality, no explicit mention of death – it’s possible to read this book as a quirky story about a magical musician. It can also be appreciated just for illustrator François Thisdale’s gorgeous, painterly spreads, with their becalming greens, blues, and ochres.”—Quill & Quire
"Rating: E…[A]n uncomplicated picture book delivering a message that young children can relate to without the sadness and gloom normally associated with death. The title may initially indicate that Mister Rodriguez is going on a different voyage, not the one that readers eventually discover in the story. Overall, Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez is a perfect selection for sharing with young children, in a classroom, or a library setting.”—Resource Links
“Observed by village children, an elderly man prepares for death in this misty allegory....Duchesne adopts a first-person-plural narrative voice in which matter-of-fact declaratives bob against mild speculation and culminate in an unflappable conclusion.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The blue and grey backdrops of sky and sea are at once misty and luminous, grounded by the pretty shuttered buildings and the solid human figures, emphasizing the juxtaposition of the reality of a continental town with some pretty unusual plot elements. Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez is a rather special picture book...”—CM Magazine
“A beautifully crafted and charmingly entertaining picture book for children ages 5-8 by the team of author/storyteller Christiane Duchesne and illustrator/artist Francois Thisdale, Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library collections.”—Midwest Book Review
“Christiane Duchesne’s text leaves open what the children actually see and what actually happened to Mister Rodriguez but still laces it with the heartfelt emotion of a dear friend’s passing. Because of the surreal, perhaps supernatural, texture of Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez, François Thisdale’s illustrations, created with acrylic and digital media, have the perfect blend of the ethereal and the realistic....Bon Voyage, Mister Rodriguez presents the concept of death in a wholly unique fashion, leaving open what happens after we leave the physical world.”—CanLit for LittleCanadians
“I liked the innovative activity, the mystery of his actions, and the diversity of the children pictured here....This is a book that explores the imagination and leaves a lot for the reader to decide on their own. A beautiful book.”—Canadian Bookworm
“If you’re looking for a book that is filled with symbolism, beautiful (and naturalistic) illustrations that are sweeping in scope, and a gentle approach to ‘what it all means,’ then you should pick up a copy. Duchesne masterfully weaves a simple tale that elicits questions and provides few answers thereby creating necessary discussion....Bon Voyage Mister Rodriguez lets you embark on a journey of understanding–that you get to take with you into your very own set of traditions.”—Mr. Alex’s Bookshelf
11/01/2019
PreS-Gr 2—Children often notice things that adults do not, especially when they are out of the ordinary. Meet Mr. Rodriguez, an older man whose regular, predictable routine is familiar to the children in his small town. All at once, they begin noticing anomalies in his schedule and in his behavior: instead of walking, they see him floating down the street with a fishbowl on his head, and another time he skates down the street while pushing a dog in a sled. After several days of unusual behavior, Mr. Rodriguez disappears, ultimately appearing to the children one final time before he and his series of companions float off together into the sky. Crisp, vibrant illustrations form the foundation of this book, dominating each page and rendering the text secondary. Created with acrylics and digital media, the images include lifelike faces of children alongside detailed, richly colored illustrations. Though Mr. Rodriguez's behavior is unusual, the text only mildly remarks on that fact, remaining vague at the book's conclusion when the children determine that he may never return. The story line speaks to the reality of death in a whimsical way, introducing it by way of it occurring to someone known by the children in the book but not someone with whom they were particularly close. VERDICT Young children beginning to learn about the concept of death will find this book to be an easy introduction to this inevitability in their lives.—Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver Public Library
2019-09-15
Observed by village children, an elderly man prepares for death in this misty allegory.
Mr. Rodriguez appears outdoors at 4 p.m. daily, communing with a different animal each day: a dove on Monday, a pet fish on Tuesday, an old sheepdog on Wednesday, a lame cat on Thursday. On Friday, a piano appears on the street, and Mr. Rodriguez sits atop it as "a fine melody flowed out to sea." Mr. Rodriguez levitates slightly above the cobbled streets along with the animals (and piano) he shepherds. On Saturday, Mr. Rodriguez fails to appear. The children rise early on Sunday to discover whether he's changed his routine. Their curiosity is rewarded: The elder appears on his piano, floating in the air, the animals arrayed around him. "He winked and pointed to the clouds in the distance." Duchesne adopts a first-person-plural narrative voice in which matter-of-fact declaratives bob against mild speculation and culminate in an unflappable conclusion: "He had gone away, probably forever. But we know he was happy." Thisdale's paintings depict a white-presenting Mr. Rodriguez and the coastal village's mutable sky, cerulean sea, whitewashed buildings, and omnipresent lighthouse. He sometimes duplicates and flips his images of the village's diverse children. With their precisely lit, unchanging or mirrored facial expressions, these recurring images convey, perhaps unintentionally, a robotic eeriness.
This surreal allegory of death's release will intrigue some readers while puzzling others. (Picture book. 4-7)
