Emma's Journey »

Claire Frossard: Born in Versailles, not far from the famous Château, Claire Frossard left for Alsace in 1997 to pursue her studies at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. Since then, she has worked in a small studio as an illustrator, creating children's books and drawings for the press. In 1998, she made her first trip to New York to visit her uncle Etienne, who is a photographer by profession. As so many before her, Claire fell in love with New York. Over the next ten years, Claire dreamed of returning. Then, early in 2009, she finally arrived back in New York, with the sparse beginnings of Emma's Journey in her suitcase and the address of Enchanted Lion Books in her pocket. Emma's Journey is a melding of Claire's words and illustrations and Etienne's photographs and is the fruit of the passion that they share for New York.

Etienne Frossard: Etienne Frossard is a freelance photographer who lives and work in Brooklyn, NY. He was born in 1956 and grew up in France.
His pictures have appeared in magazines like Newsweek, Time Out New York, Metropolis and New York Living.
His Brooklyn Bridge images have received awards from Advertising Photographers of America, The New York Foundation for the Arts and Pdn World in Focus.

Charming illustrations and engaging photographs of New York combine to produce a compellingly original book that cannot fail to delight!

Publishers Weekly

Ostensibly about a perky sparrow's journey to France, this uncle-niece team's debut devotes most of its energy to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Spurred on by stories of the family's immigration to the United States ("Since his retirement, Uncle Bob had become passionate about genealogy"), Emma decides to visit Paris. "Oh, my sweet, but you are still so small," says her mother, who nevertheless packs her a jar of worm jam and a thermos of tea. The book is initially illustrated by Claire Frossard's cartoons of Emma's life in Central Park, which give way to Etienne Frossard's photographs of New York City by winter; the photos are augmented by Claire's drawings of Emma, who wears a sailor hat and pink rubber rain boots as she visits familiar New York landmarks ("This looks just like a big slice of cake," she comments on the Flatiron Building). Chatty Emma makes her way across the city at sparrow-speed; not until near the end does she actually set off for France. Some may chafe at the slow pace and loosely plotted story, but this cozy odyssey should find some ardent fans. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)