We had the chance of meeting Sabine Douellou, "conteuse- voyageuse" since 2011 and passionate about children's literature. With a background in orthoptics, her multiple expatriations led her to review her career plans. An encounter with a young Polish mother and her passion for children's books led her to decide to become a storyteller. Sabine created Mary-Contine and trained as a storyteller in 2015. Since then, she has been offering, as she moves, hours of storytelling and games with French-speaking children (she is now in Austin, TX). If you want to learn more about Sabine, check out this article written about her in Femmes Expat in 2022. As we dive into the topic of family, Sabine graciously offered to share her favorite family of children's authors with us.




As a storyteller and reader aloud for French-speaking children around the world since 2012, I take great pleasure with the illustrated books of the Lecaye-Solotareff family. In their children's books, easily recognizable among all as much by their themes as by their illustrations, stories always feature animals with which children can easily identify. As someone who appreciates the visual aspects of children's books, the paintings with their vibrant colors are characteristic and so poetic that these illustrated books are among my favorites. That's why I've chosen to showcase them in this first article addressed to you, parents of young readers.



The mother, Olga Lecaye (El Kayem, born Solotareff 1916-2004), born of Russian parents, grew up in France in the house of the "Comtesse de Segur" and studied at the Louvre. She married a Lebanese pediatrician and poet, and they lived for several years in Egypt and then in Lebanon. When the civil war broke out, the family returned to France, the children did not go to school. Olga began writing them small illustrated books for them to learn to read, and some of her books were later published. Encouraged by her children, Olga went on to create other illustrated albums. With this atypical profile, Olga's influence has helped to foster a culture of literary creativity among her four children. Nadja and Grégoire Solotareff worked together with their mother, supporting her painted illustrations that transport us deep into the woods among adorable little creatures whose incredibly human weaknesses are subtly addressed. Nadja and Grégoire Solotareff also have their own illustrated and/or written works in different formats. All three remained loyal to the publisher, L'École des Loisirs, and their books are among the best references in children's literature. In the rest of the family, Alexis is an author of thrillers, Helene (under the pseudonym Nash) has worked with Nadja.


Mary-Contine's favorite album: Élise la couturiere, a little mouse with magical fingers makes a party outfit for each of her friends and finds herself alone and sad in her workshop while everyone else celebrates. An ingenius idea from her roommate, the spider, will help her create a surprise... This album is a collaboration between mother and daughter, with Nadja writing the text even though her specialty remains illustration. As an anecdote: Olga, like Elise, had magical fingers and could embroider and sew clothes and costumes for her children like nobody else. Everything in the book is there to touch the reader: the dark and bright forest landscapes, the colors of the party outfits, the attitudes of the animals, the emotions that Elise goes through, but above all, the notions of mutual aid and friendship.


Happy reading and happy month of May! Sabine Douellou


Find in our collection other albums written and/or illustrated by Olga Lecaye, Nadja or Grégoire Solotareff.

Bibliography:
Hommage à Olga Lecaye, La revue des livres pour enfants, #218, BNF
Album(s) de famille : Olga Lecaye, Solotareff et Nadja, Janine Kotwica- Paroles, février 2005