EMMA IN PARIS

In this second book about a travel-loving bird named Emma (Emma’s Journey, 2010), the little sparrow sets sail across the Atlantic to meet her Parisian cousin.

Emma, who was “born and raised in New York City,” decides to visit her cousin Amélie, who lives in Montmartre. With limited language skills and Amélie’s address clutched under her tiny wing, Emma sets out looking for her home. Undeterred by a pair of rude avian pedestrians who ignore her and an old mouse who can’t hear her, the resourceful bird uses her last few cents to purchase a French-English dictionary, which she enthusiastically studies. She befriends a cat, Edouard, and he guides Emma to her cousin. Amélie regales Emma with her stories about her life as a performer in a street circus—and then, to Emma’s delight, Amélie recruits her to join the act. Frossard’s charming illustrations are creatively integrated into Urbain’s colorful, slice-of-Parisian-life photographs—from its famed monuments to its scenic, hidden alleyways. In this Paris, the small-sized animal world of mice, cats, dogs and birds goes about its everyday life: underfoot, in trees, at the market, unnoticed by the humans. Funny images are everywhere; a pair of crows jog by in running shoes and headbands, and a cat works as a DJ, outfitted with headphones and record player.

Au revoir, Emma, until (we hope) Book 3.