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I’m so pleased debut author Joan Yolleck is here today to discuss how she created this enchanting children’s story about an imaginary soirée at Gertrude and Leo Stein’s home at 27 rue de Fleurus. It’s a charming portrait of several real members of Stein’s coterie, glimpses of what they might have been doing in the hours prior to the party. Guillaume Apollinaire writes a poem after seeing a street acrobat, Max Jacob composes comical rhyming couplets about his father’s tailor shop, and Picasso is, of course, busy painting. 

   
     Alice and Gertrude, 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris 1922 (tellmewhat2/flickr).

Guillaume and Pablo are joined by their girlfriends, Marie and Fernande, and at dusk, along with Max, they all head over to Gertrude’s house, strolling through Paris (dazzling by street light), past a circus, across a river, by a cabaret (Lapin Agile). Meanwhile, Gertrude’s been reading in her favorite chair, while her companion, Alice B. Toklas, is setting out cakes. Our charming feline narrator asks us to imagine what all these famous guests might talk about once the party is underway. 

     
       Lapin Agile was a restaurant frequented by many artists. 
       The food was hearty and inexpensive (lemonfig[Johanna].         

Ooh-la-la! But this is a book to kiss and marry! I love Joan’s impressionistic storytelling; the conversational narrative sparkles with juicy asides and delicious details (extraordinary artists doing ordinary things). Priceman’s gouache and ink illos spill over with unbridled beauty, electrifying élan and panache, ravishing colors, intense energy, and joyous movement (across, over, under, beside, between, hither and yon). This book captures the joie de vivre of Paris in the early twentieth century, allowing children to “meet” these party guests in the most delightful way, enticing them to learn more about Stein and her incredible salon. 

But, pardonnez-moi. Now, it is time to meet Joan, who is visiting today from Toronto, where she lives with her two Siamese cats and reviews children's books: